Key to Happiness
by the dreamer
Summary: - HIATUS - "How did it come to this?" Sakura asked herself miserably. She ended up becoming his personal assistant, and now he's trying to teach her lessons she didn't want to learn. But he's just so damn persistent. "It's all because of that damned game."
1. Unfortunate Events

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

**Pairings: **Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo, Mei Lin x OC

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned in updates of my other stories, this is the new story I came up with. I've grown (as did my skills and manner of writing) since the times I've written **Meant to be Wild** and **Forever in My Heart**. So you may notice quite a change. But rest assured, this story is as original as they come and entirely made up by me.

I hope you still enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter One**

**"Unfortunate Events"**

* * *

"Mmmm-ahh…" Sakura sighed before swallowing the melted ice inside her mouth. "I'll never get tired of this. It's just too good!" she explained feeling content with her crushed ice.

"You say that about everything Sak," Chiharu pointed out from beside her.

"No I don't," she protested still with a bright smile on her face. "I only say that to the things I reallyyyy like."

Her three friends all grinned at each other, watching their friend eat the crushed ice as if each bite was heaven on her tongue.

"I really love strawberries," Sakura said with a long sigh, totally contented.

Rika, Naoko and Chiharu giggled at this.

"Sakura, you're really easy to please," Naoko told her softly.

"Or you're just overly optimistic about almost anything," Rika quipped.

**xoxo**

"Knock knock!" Eriol called out while knocking on the door.

"It's open!" someone said from the inside.

Eriol let himself inside with a sigh. "Xiao Lang, you should really make it a habit to latch your doors locked. What if someone decides to come up here and steal from you or something?"

Syaoran walked out of his bedroom towards his best friend who was casually resting on the lounge area.

"And who, may I ask, would even dare to come up here and get in without my consent?" he asked him with a brow raised.

"Hmm…good point."

Syaoran smirked at him before heading over to the side of his penthouse where glass covered the entire wall. He looked out the view while drying his chocolate brown hair with a towel.

"What brings you here anyway?" he asked, back still turned.

"It's about that event the marketing department proposed to you a month ago."

"What about it?"

"They said they want to push it through. They talked to the different managers of your companies, and they all agree to do it. For publicity's sake that is."

"Of course they do," Syaoran said, exasperated. In his opinion, they didn't have to have such an open celebration just for publicity. It wasn't necessary, but his employees have been making an effort trying to make him consent to something like this for the past few weeks. "Fine, let them do it."

Eriol smiled at this. "You have to take part in the festivities though," he pointed out, making his friend turn to him with furrowed brows. "It wouldn't look good if the Chief Executive Officer of the entire corporation wouldn't participate when he supposedly organized it, don't you think?"

Syaoran glared at him before turning his back on him.

"Fine."

**xoxo**

Sakura skipped along the sidewalk with her friends walking behind her, enjoying just watching their enthusiastic friend.

"It really is a lovely day," Sakura exclaimed looking up at the sky and turning around with her arms spread out.

"Yes it is," Rika agreed with a smile before looking down at her wristwatch, making her frown. "Time really is going too fast."

Chiharu and Naoko both looked down at their watch as well and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Sakura inquired.

"We have to get back to work," Rika informed her with a sad smile. "We have 5 minutes to get back to the office."

"It's alright, I have to get back to the shop too," Sakura said, her mood not faltering by the least. "I'll see you guys tomorrow as usual."

Sakura walked towards her shop but before entering, noted that the sign on the door was labeled: _Close_. The door chimes rang as she came in but nobody was in the display area as she came in and the lights were off as well.

'Why's the shop closed?' she wondered to herself and walked through a long string of beads that worked like the entrance that covered the working area that comprised half of the shop.

"Hey Sakura!" Aya and Emi greeted her together from the work table which was currently full of gardenias.

"What's all this?"

"We have a large order! Arrangements of white gardenias all scheduled to be ready and delivered this Saturday," Emi told her with a big smile on her face.

Sakura turned and saw, well, she saw a pair of long legs and a pair of arms carrying a large bundle of more white gardenias. It surprised her but seeing the hair on top of the man's head let her know immediately.

"Otou-san!" Sakura went over and helped him set the flowers on the large working table beside the already full one. "What are you doing?"

"Just helping you guys out," he said with a soft smile to her daughter as he took out the cotton gloves he was wearing. "I just came by to give you something but saw these girls. I thought they needed the help"

Aya and Emi looked at Sakura guiltily.

"We're sorry Sakura, we told Kinomoto-san that we can handle it but-"

"-I insisted." Fujitaka finished.

"Where are Ayumi and Hisami?" Sakura asked the two girls, only just noticing that two of her other employees weren't present.

"They haven't come back from their lunch break yet."

Sakura nodded before leading her father towards further back of the working area where a large glass freezer was located and beside it, her office. She set her bag on her desk and noticed a simple paper bag beside it.

"Open it." her father said, smiling at her.

Sakura opened the package and took out the strawberry cushion that was inside it.

"Awww…I love it!" she said with a grin before hugging her father.

"I came across this new shop on my way home from the college yesterday and found it displayed on the window," he told her while patting her head. She may not be the little girl she used to be, in fact, Sakura's a grown lady of 24 years already. But he just can't help but spoil her in any way he can, and he knew she had a great fondness and quite an obsession for strawberries.

"Thank you," she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. "But you didn't have to come all the way here just to give it to me, I could've picked it up at home when I visit."

**xoxo**

"So it's our company that hired your shop?" Chiharu asked, surprised.

Sakura nodded while licking her strawberry ice cream. "I was surprised when I got back to the shop yesterday and saw a massive order of gardenias. Even more surprised when I inquired about the order and it turned out to be the company you work at to have ordered it."

"We're having an event this Sunday. But it isn't just our company that's taking part of it though, but every company owned by Li Corp. You should come Sakura, it'll be fun," Naoko told her.

Rika agreed. "You'll be busy from now 'til the end of the week preparing for the decorations right? You could at least take a day off," she pointed out.

"I'll think about it."

Sakura wanted to go and have fun, but having to close down the shop for another day made her unsure. She already planned on closing it for the week in order to get the order ready without disruption.

"Don't think about it, you're coming," Rika said in a final tone. "And take the girls with you too! They'll need the break as well."

**xoxo**

"Tell me again why I'm here?" Syaoran grumbled on his seat, watching the excitement that's going on below him.

The park across Li Corp.'s main building was being rented out especially for today's event. Booths were set up everywhere, ranging from children's toys, household products, tourism packages to advanced technology and more.

Li Corp. was a company which had one primary function, and that was to buy out large stocks from several companies regardless of what sort of products they sold. If a certain company started to fall out due to different reasons like low sales or poor advertising leading them to bankruptcy, Li Corp. immediately moves in and takes over, bringing up the company back to its feet as well as a large profit for both parties. The company has long been founded by Syaoran's family in Hong Kong and Syaoran expanded their company and now runs the branch he founded in Japan, making him the youngest CEO of 25 years old.

From the stage set up at the head of the large area used for the celebration, Syaoran let out a bored sigh. He was sitting at the top of the many chairs set up on the elevated stage where his close colleagues and the companies he partly owns managers were as well.

"Syaoran, try to put a smile on your face will you," Mei Lin said, giving him a nudge on the side.

Syaoran glared at his cousin who was sitting beside him with her boyfriend on her other side.

"I didn't even want to be here," he retorted.

"Well you're here now, so at least try to pretend like you're enjoying it."

"This celebration is a big scam, which is why I never wanted it in the first place. The only reason why I'm allowing this is because mother insisted I try to 'lighten up' and 'enjoy life' but I still don't get why I have to be here" he grumbled yet again.

"Don't think of it as a big scam Syaoran, although this event will bring in a lot of profit to all the companies-"

"-which is why those old geezers are so eager to do it," Syaoran said cutting in. Some of the 'old geezers' who owned the companies along with Syaoran who were seated in front of him turned and gave him a look. They weren't much older than him, most of them in their 30s and a few in their 40s and 50s. He merely glared at them.

"Right," Eriol continued in hopes of trying to lighten his mood up. "But, not just that. I mean, look around you, everyone who came are enjoying themselves. It might benefit us the most but it's good for the public too," he said, pointing to the large crowd below them. "Even the employees for the different companies are having fun. Even though they're still working the booths, it's still a break for them from office work."

Syaoran glared at him, knowing he made a point and he hated him for it. He was supposed to be a well-known and feared business tycoon. He might be young at age but not at experience. And here he was, being told-off by his cousin. Eriol and Mei Lin were his cousins and closest friends. Tomoyo, Eriol's girlfriend and Jay, Mei Lin's boyfriend are also his closest friends for as long as he could remember. Whenever he was around them, it was trouble for him to keep up his attitude as a serious businessman, they always brought out a side of him that he would prefer to be kept within closed doors. They were the only people whom he ever showed any form of kindness and casualness to and he'd rather keep that a secret or else his employees would start thinking otherwise about him and start taking their jobs lightly just because he was younger than all of them. Too much exposure of his emotions would be a sign of weakness and will greatly affect his reputation for being a businessman, as what his father keeps telling him ever since. And by experience, he firmly believes it to be true.

"The flowers are rather beautiful, ne?" Tomoyo pointed out, snapping Syaoran out of his thoughts. "What kind are they I wonder?"

It was only then that Syaoran noticed that the entire stage, as well as the tents covering the booths, was covered with white flowers in different arrangements.

"Gardenias," Syaoran supplied in a bored voice.

All four heads turned to him.

"How the hell do you know that?" Jay asked in a laughing voice.

Syaoran glared at him but he wasn't at all fazed. "Lauren demand I send her a bouquet of those flowers whenever I can't make it to her premieres."

Mei Lin wrinkled her nose at the mere mention of one of Syaoran's girlfriends who was a Broadway performer.

"I hate that woman," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her. "You hate all of my girl friends Mei Lin," he pointed out.

"I wouldn't if you had better taste in women," she retorted. "All those whores you date are all difficult to get along with. Always whining about this and that and clinging onto your arm wherever you go when you're together. You might as well tie a leash around their necks and drag them."

Jay and Eriol snickered at Mei Lin's little speech.

"I'm dead serious," Mei Lin snapped at both men. "Why can't you just date a normal girl Syaoran? One with self-dignity, brains and a sweet personality to boot."

**xoxo**

"Sakura, will you stop fussing over the flowers?" Ayumi said, nudging her in the side.

They've been walking around the park, stopping by several booths from time to time and Sakura just wouldn't stay still. Every time she saw a flower out of place from their arrangements, she's been running off and fixing them.

"I can't help it," Sakura said apologetically, looking at the four girls who were her juniors and employees.

"There's Sasaki-san and the others!" Emi pointed out, waving at where Rika and the others were sitting.

"Hey Sakura, girls" Rika greeted, nodding at each one of them. "Are you having fun?"

"Hai!" the younger girls chorused in cheerful voices where as a certain someone in the group was very much distracted.

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

"Don't mind her" Hisami said. "She's been fixing all our flower arrangements ever since we got here, making sure every stem is perfect in its place."

Rika huffed, looking at her friend who was still looking around at all the flowers.

'I'll make you enjoy yourself Sakura, I'll make sure of it!' she told herself before excusing herself and pulled Chiharu and Naoko away from their posts.

"Rika?" Naoko questioned, looking at the girl who had a disturbed look on her face.

"You guys all think Sakura deserves a bit of excitement in her life right?" she asked impatiently.

"If it will make her happy, of course," Chiharu answered.

"Good! I have a plan."

**xoxo**

"How about we go down and see the fun for ourselves?" Eriol suggested as he shifted on his seat. "I swear if I don't get up, I'll get a butt sore."

"I'd rather stay here. I don't want to give anyone the opportunity to get anywhere near me," Syaoran said flatly.

Eriol snickered at this, knowing full well the last time Syaoran went around without bodyguards along with him. He was practically ganged up by women of all ages and sizes. It was a rather comedic scene in his opinion though.

"Very well," he said, grinning at him like a Cheshire cat. "Tomoyo?" he asked, offering his hand to her.

Tomoyo smiled and took it, standing up gracefully from her seat.

Syaoran watched the two, they really were the embodiment of a perfect couple. Eriol had midnight blue eyes with hair of the same color only darker, in his nicely ironed, tailored dark gray suit with Tomoyo beside him who had amethyst eyes and long wavy ashen hair in her custom-made white, floral dress with a white sunhat, looked like they were characters taken out of a romance novel.

He snorted internally at the thought. That's what the pair looked like if it were anybody else who was watching them now. If they really knew Eriol and Tomoyo, they couldn't be any more wrong.

On the other hand, he thought, looking over at his other cousin and her boyfriend. Mei Lin had jet black, long straight hair which was paired with her fiery red eyes and today she wore a long Chinese-themed dress that was the color of blood red with oriental figures on it that had slits all the way to the middle of both her thighs and beside her Seiji or as they all call him 'Jay' with gray eyes and hair just as dark as Mei Lin's which he keeps in a small ponytail behind him. The piercing on his left ear and the way he wears his hair and his dark and equally nicely ironed, tailored suit as Eriol's, and to only be seen with the likes of Mei Lin made them look like the head of a Chinese Mafia, a couple not to be messed around with. Which, Syaoran thought with a roll of his eyes, was true. You'd be crazy to get into the bad side of those two, especially Mei Lin.

The diversity of his companions only made him more unpredictable to everyone else around him who didn't truly know him, and this satisfied Syaoran immensely.

**xoxo**

"How many did you put in so far?" Rika asked, releasing her pen and shaking her hand, trying to relax it.

"Around twenty I think," Chiharu said, grinning.

"Naoko?" Rika asked the girl who was still writing down madly.

"Forty," she replied with a sigh before slamming down her pen.

**xoxo**

"Sakuraaaa," Hisami whined looking at their friend and boss. "We're supposed to be here having fun! Besides, those flowers are gonna come down soon anyway. There's no point in fixing them."

"Yeah, the event's almost over, we have a few more hours until its dark and the final part of the program's gonna start soon," Emi pitched in. "No one's even gonna see the flowers by then."

"You guys go ahead," Sakura replied with a smile. She was standing on a short ladder she borrowed from one of the people running a booth nearby just to fix a bunch of lose flowers at the top of a tent. "I'll look for you guys later, I promise this will be the last one I'll be fixing for the day."

The girls eyed her suspiciously.

"Are you sure?"

"Scout's honor!"

**xoxo**

"We should've brought Syaoran along," Jay voiced out casually as he looked through the different booths selling a variety of things.

"Yeah, and get involved in a stampede of crazy women? No way," Mei Lin replied.

"I feel bad about leaving him by himself though."

"He's used to it. Besides, he'll be having one of his girl friends over at his place later tonight I'm sure," she pointed out a bit annoyingly. "I meant what I told him earlier, he really should find a nice girl he can actually be serious with."

"So you sabotage every relationship he starts to get serious with if the girl isn't nice enough for you," Jay said with a raised brow.

Mei Lin grinned at him. "There's no way I'm letting him go into a serious relationship with an airheaded gold-digger. I'm fine if he has those girls as his whores but any more serious than that, I'm putting my foot down."

"As you did for the last twenty or so women he's been with for the past few years," he whispered in her ear.

Mei Lin winked at him. No one except Jay, Eriol, Tomoyo and herself knew what she's been doing for the past few years, and if Syaoran did know, he didn't do anything about it either. She, with Jay's occasional help, has been doing whatever she can to make sure girls don't get too close to Syaoran. He's had a lot of women since his teen hood but when he entered his 20s, women have tried more than once to have a serious relationship with Syaoran. All those women of course, Mei Lin took the opportunity to research and find out their true personalities, and all of whom were, in Mei Lin's opinion, were not worthy of her cousin.

A few steps behind them, Eriol and Tomoyo followed the couple leisurely.

"Seriously Eriol, I really love the flowers. It's not just the flowers but the arrangement, accents, everything!" Tomoyo said fondly. "They're really speaking to me. I want to use this kind of scene for the next shoot of the spring collection," she decided.

Eriol smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips. "Let's ask the decorations committee which florist they hired for the arrangements later."

Tomoyo smiled at him and nodded before turning to the flowers yet again, this time picking out a stem from the arrangement closest to her. "They are really speaking to me in a certain way. It makes me happy just looking at it!"

"I'm happy to hear that," a female voice replied from behind.

**xoxo**

Sakura looked at the arrangement in front of her and sighed in content.

"Very good, now you guys stay in your place and look pretty for everyone to see," she whispered to the gardenias.

"Let's ask the decorations committee which florist they hired for the arrangements later," a male voice intruded her ears.

Sakura looked down and saw the loveliest couple she had ever seen. She went wide-eyed when the woman took out one of the gardenias from her creation.

"H-" she stopped before she even tried to reprimand her.

"They are really speaking to me in a certain way. It makes me happy just looking at it!"

Sakura smiled at her, happy that she was enjoying the flowers and really seeing the beauty of it rather than treating it as some random decoration as most people do.

"I'm happy to hear that," Sakura replied, not realizing she said those words aloud until the couple turned and accidentally hitting the ladder she was still standing on. "Aaaaahhh!" Sakura shrieked, falling off of it and towards the ground.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" Tomoyo said from beside her.

Sakura breathed, still trembling. She didn't hurt anywhere, in fact she didn't even feel like she was on the ground. "I-I'm fine" she whispered and opened her eyes slowly. "Aaaahh!" she shrieked again, shocked to find the woman's face so close to hers. "I-I'm sorry," Sakura said immediately. "You startled me."

She looked around her and noticed a few people looking their way and only just noticed that she was still in the arms of the man whom the woman was talking to earlier. Sakura scrambled to her feet and took a few steps back away from the couple. She eyed the man in front of her, hoping she didn't ruin the expensive looking suit he was wearing.

Eriol dusted off his suit and placed his hands in his pocket, looking at the girl as she bowed.

"Forgive me for that. And I hope I didn't ruin your suit," Sakura said apologetically.

"It was nothing," Eriol said, waving the whole ordeal off. He turned to his girlfriend, hoping to go on ahead to catch up with Jay and Mei Lin but…

"Oh my, you're too kawaii!" Tomoyo exclaimed with stars in her eyes, taking the girl's hands in hers and looking at her face closely.

"H-Huh?"

Eriol sweat dropped looking at his girlfriend. She's letting her guard down, which rarely happened.

"Tomoyo…" Eriol called out casually, taking her back to reality.

"I-I mean," Tomoyo cleared her throat in a ladylike fashion and let go of Sakura's hands. "Are you all right? You're trembling."

Sakura looked at her weirdly. "I'm fine," she said with a small bow. "And as I said earlier, I'm happy to hear that you admire the flowers so much."

Tomoyo cocked her head to the side. "Are you by any chance responsible for this magnificent setting?"

Sakura nodded with a smile.

"My name is Tomoyo Daidouji," she said abruptly with a graceful bow of her head.

This caught Sakura off guard. "S-Sakura Kinomoto. Nice to meet you Daidouji-san." she said with a far less graceful bow.

"Please, call me Tomoyo," Tomoyo smiled at Sakura so sincerely that Sakura now more than ever thought she was some sort of elegant princess from a book.

"Eriol Hiiragizawa." Eriol interrupted, stepping beside Tomoyo and holding out his hand towards Sakura.

"Nice to meet you too Hiiragizawa-kun," Sakura said as she shook his hand.

"Eriol," he corrected before looking over at Tomoyo who smiled brightly at him. Eriol smiled back at her and smiled sincerely at Sakura. "A pleasure to meet you as well Sakura-san."

**xoxo**

"Okay everyone, may I have your attention please?" A woman who looked to be in her mid-30s said into the microphone making the people around the park turn to the stage.

A podium was set on stage beside the lined up chairs that the heads were sitting on.

Sakura, Rika, Chiharu, Naoko and the rest of the younger girls stood amongst the audience comprised with guests and employees. They watched as women went up the stage in a line carrying large boxes in their hands. As the last of them halted to a stop on stage, the announcement continued.

"The last yet most exciting part of today's program shall now begin," she announced jovially. "As you can see, we have three boxes here on stage. The first box contains names of those in the audience who volunteered to join in the activities. The other two, we shall reveal later. Now, before we pick names randomly from the first box, I would like to have five volunteers from any of the heads sitting on stage please," she said, looking at the lined group sitting down beside her on stage.

The well-dressed men and women all turned to look at her before talking in low voices among themselves.

"Remember, this is to show everyone in the audience that our company is indeed run by some of Japan's elite who aren't only wealthy but have the best personalities to go with it," the woman added, as she got the feeling that none of them intended to join in.

Whispers started from amongst the audience, until one of the men seated on the stage stood up.

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned to the man who was seated on one of the few chairs situated at the very most top of the elevated stage.

Sakura gasped.

Eriol grinned at the woman beside him, who Sakura only just noticed was Tomoyo, before walking down the steps and towards the woman by the podium.

"W-Well, well!" the woman started, sounding a bit shocked herself. "Meet Mr. Eriol Hiiragizawa everyone! Let's give him a round of applause for joining us."

The well-dressed men and women near them all clapped in a sophisticated fashion and sent a smile towards Eriol.

In the audience, however, most of the women shrieked and called out his name as if he was some sort of celebrity.

Sakura giggled at this.

"Ms. Sakura Kinomoto!"

Sakura stopped.

"HOEEEE?"

The people around Sakura turned and looked at her, whereas Rika, Chiharu and Naoko grinned madly to themselves.

"B-But I didn't join anything!" she reasoned in protest as the people around her started clapping and urging her forward.

"Go on Sakura, don't keep everyone waiting," Rika whispered before nudging her forward.

**xoxo**

Tomoyo looked positively joyous as she watched the familiar girl slowly making her way towards the stage.

"Do you know her Tomoyo?" Mei Lin asked, seeing Tomoyo's face light up after hearing the girl's name.

Tomoyo merely nodded with a big smile on her face.

Mei Lin and Jay looked at each other and shrugged.

Syaoran looked bored.

"I never would've thought you'd be into this kind of thing," Eriol told her with a polite smile.

"That should be my line," Sakura told him awkwardly.

"Now!" the woman started yet again. "Mr. Hiiragizawa-kun, please take a piece of paper from inside the second box."

Eriol did so and gave it to her. "Shizuya-san," he said with a polite smile to the woman.

She took the paper from him with a nod and read its contents. "Ring toss!" Mrs. Shizuya announced excitedly.

Silence spread through the park before a chorus of "Eh?" sounded from the entire audience as well as the people on stage.

"This part of the program is actually to prove that there could be a friendly relationship between producers and consumers and of course for the sake of simple, clean and fun entertainment for you all as well," she said with a laugh in her voice.

**xoxo**

With that said, Syaoran snorted. It was another tactic to get more buyers for the different company's products. Now they're actually trying to sell their so called 'personalities' to the public.

'Whoever came up with this idea deserves a promotion' he thought to himself albeit bitterly. He hated the event because in his opinion, it was like a big scam for the public who were there to supposedly enjoy themselves but they were actually lured in to be swayed to the products being sold. This sort of tactic Syaoran wasn't really fond of. Also, he hated the event because he was forced to be there. But if his priority were to just reel in money regardless of how to do it, the event really wasn't that bad of an idea.

**xoxo**

The audience clapped with smiles on their faces before women started screaming for Eriol yet again.

The contestants went over to a lower and smaller stage set in between the main stage and the audience so everyone can see more clearly.

"Hiiragizawa-kun! Do your best!" the women called out loudly altogether.

Eriol grinned at them before taking off his blazer and folding up the sleeves of the button-down shirt he wore underneath.

More women shrieked at this.

Sakura looked at him, not at all fazed even though she thoughtfully admitted when they met earlier that he did look more handsome than most men she knew. Then she looked down at herself, in her white flats, mint green knee-length skirt and white shirt that had a little cartoon strawberry print in the middle.

She sweat dropped.

'You really can tell who're the insanely rich from the average,' she thought to herself.

"Okay, get ready!" Mrs. Shizuya called out.

Eriol and Sakura leaned slightly over the setting of lined empty bottles in front of them with a bundle of rings in their arms.

"Go!"

**xoxo**

"I have to admit, I actually had fun," Eriol announced with a smile on his face as he retook his seat at the top of the stage with a cone of strawberry ice cream in his hand. "Hey!" he protested as Mei Lin snatched the cone from him.

"I like strawberry flavored ice cream," she said before running her tongue around it.

"So did I," he said with a playful glare, indicating he didn't want it any more now that she took a lick from it.

Apparently, the third box was full with more papers and the loser had to pick one from it. Each paper had a consequence written on it that the loser had to perform for the winner. It this case, Sakura lost and had to buy Eriol a cone of ice cream.

"I admit the idea of this event was good, but whoever came up with these childish games and so-called 'consequences' are all idiots," Syaoran muttered rudely from his seat.

"Ms. Sakura Kinomoto!"

"HOEEEEEEEEE?"

The five turned and saw the girl with the honey brown hair almost fall off the platform she was intending to leave.

**xoxo**

"W-Why is it me again?" Sakura asked the woman exasperatedly.

The women raised the paper in her hands for her to see her name scribbled on it. It looked like whoever wrote it was in a hurry.

Sakura turned over to where she left her friends in the audience, all of them had big smiles on their faces and were rooting for her loudly.

"Of course it was them," she whispered to herself with a sigh before turning to the elderly gentleman beside her who looked to be in his late 50s. She bowed kindly at him, making him do the same. 'He seems nice' Sakura thought to herself.

"Jump rope!"

**xoxo**

Tomoyo giggled from her seat, watching Sakura dizzily make her way to the side to steady herself. "It's rather unfortunate that her opponent is Old Mr. Tadashi," she said, still giggling to herself as she watched Mr. Tadashi who had a triumphant grin on his face and his fists in the air.

**xoxo**

The 'elderly gentleman' Sakura competed at jumping rope wasn't as old as she thought at all. She held on to the bar that surrounded the platform for support, panting madly.

"Sorry to shock you there my dear," he said in a fatherly voice, lending a hand to Sakura. "My company sells all sorts of training gear. I have the privilege of owning the most up-to-date equipment our company has to offer, and I take time to use them," he supplied.

"Hoeee…" Sakura sweat dropped at this. 'No wonder he can do all those jumps easily and even manage to do 360 turns while doing them'

"Hai," the lady holding the third box said, as she held the box in front of Sakura for the 2nd time that day.

Sakura took a piece of paper and gave it to the woman holding the microphone with a sigh.

"Kiss!" she announced loudly, raising the piece of paper in the air.

Sakura swore she would faint at any moment.

"HOEEEEEEE!" she exclaimed, bringing her palms to the sides of her face in embarrassment.

In that moment, Mr. Tadashi gently pulled Sakura beside him and gave her a fatherly kiss on the forehead.

The audience clapped and let out a chorus of "Awwww" at the scene.

He patted Sakura on the head. "I had a wonderful time my dear. I hope to see you again someday," he said as a final note before making his way up the main stage.

Sakura blushed before making her way down as they started to call out the contestant for the next game, which thankfully wasn't her. She was supposed to be the one doing the consequence but she wasn't complaining at how things turned out just now.

"Sakura!" the group of girls squealed as she made her way towards them through the audience.

"Which one of you did it?" she interrupted them, cutting right to the chase.

The four younger girls looked clueless as she said this where as the other three were grinning madly.

"You can yell us off later, tell me, how hot was he?" Rika asked in a rush.

Sakura doubted she was talking about Mr. Tadashi, so she figured she was talking about Eriol.

"He's alright, he's really nice."

"Really nice?" Chiharu repeated a little baffled. "You were up on that stage so close to him and all you can say is 'he's really nice'?"

"What else am I supposed to say? He really is nice, and yeah he's handsome too I guess."

"Naoko," Chiharu said with a nod before pulling Sakura to the side and pushing her down onto a chair.

Naoko looked down at her with a serious expression on her face before picking up a stick from the ground and slamming it onto a board that Rika was holding on to beside her.

"Hiiragizawa, Eriol," Naoko started in a no-nonsense tone before slamming the stick onto the board that had a picture of Eriol on it.

_Age: 26 years old_

_Status: Engaged_

_Occupation: Businessman_

_Company: Li Corporation_

_Position: __Chief Operating Officer_

_Personality: Silent, Wise, Polite_

_Special: His ability to look hot with glasses_

Sakura sweat dropped at the last thing written at the bottom of the board, it made Eriol sound like a super hero or something. "Who made this?"

"That's not the point Sakura," Naoko said, still very serious. "How can you not know him? He's always on the news whenever it's about the business world and such."

"I don't really like watching the news," she replied guiltily.

"Sakura! You're not a kid anymore, get with the program. At least you should start watching the news," Rika told her, disappointed at hearing this. "How else are you gonna find out that there are such unbelievably hot guys just within reach in Japan?"

The last sentence made all the girls drop.

"That's not the point!" Chiharu scolded at the boy-obsessed girl before turning to Sakura. "Now you know Sakura, he's one of the most esteemed and brilliant businessmen around, which is saying something considering his age."

"What about the woman beside him?" Sakura asked, looking over at Tomoyo.

Another whack sounded as Naoko's stick hit the board.

"Daidouji, Tomoyo," Naoko announced with a slight drop in her voice.

This time, the board had Tomoyo's picture on it, Sakura noted, before scanning the information written on it.

_Age: 25 years old_

_Status: Engaged_

_Occupation: Fashion Designer_

_Company: Personal_

_Personality: Classy, Gentle, Well-Mannered_

_Special: Her unbelievable amount of sophistication_

"What do you mean by 'personal'?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of her too?" Rika asked, jaw dropping. "Haven't you ever seen her work? She owns her own company. You should see what she makes Sakura, all her gowns and dresses are breathtakingly beautiful! It wouldn't even matter if the ugliest woman on earth wears it, she'd still look stunning in one of her creations!"

Sakura thought that last statement might have been an exaggeration.

"Look w-"

Whatever Chiharu wanted to say, she was interrupted by endless and very loud screaming. As their group turned to look at the stage, the rest of the girls beside Sakura started screaming as well.

Sakura covered her ears at all the noise, trying to crane her neck to see what all the commotion was about on the stage.

"Sakura Kinomoto!" a faint but still clear voice rang through the park.

Rika, Chiharu and Naoko who were still screaming now screamed in Sakura's direction as they started pushing her towards the stage.

Sakura, with ears still covered and now a lost expression on her face, staggered onto the platform, the female audience still screaming madly.

'What the heck is wrong with these girls?' she asked herself, still covering her ears tightly.

"Okay, calm down everyone!" Mrs. Shizuya shouted into her microphone, trying to settle down the noise.

**xoxo**

Exasperated, Syaoran held his hand up at the audience with an annoyed look on his face sending them into a wave of silence, before turning to the girl beside him.

'Sakura Kinomoto. This girl must really be into this whole event,' he thought, eyeing the girl beside him whose name got picked out of the box for the third time already. He figured she hadn't noticed him yet since she hadn't reacted like how most women usually do when they first look at him.

As the screams died down, Sakura dropped her hands to the side.

"You must really like playing these sort of games huh," Syaoran told Sakura, getting her attention before giving the piece of paper he just got to Mrs. Shizuya.

"Who are you?"

'Interesting' he thought with a brow slightly raised at her.

"Arm wrestling!" Mrs. Shizuya announced.

"HOEEEEEEE!" Sakura exclaimed as she had herself pushed down onto a chair with a small table in front of her. "I-I can't believe I'm back here again," Sakura told herself exasperatedly, her head dropping.

"Funny, you of all people should know why you're here."

Sakura's head snapped up to the man who seated himself across from her.

"I didn't but my name inside that box if that's what you mean," she informed him defensively.

"Sure you didn't," he replied nonchalantly. "So, would you rather give up and admit defeat? Or do you really insist in playing this game?"

Screaming erupted again before Sakura could reply as Syaoran took off the coat to his dark brown suit. The girls directly below the platform all had their arms outstretched at Syaoran's direction and all screaming out his name even louder and more eager than they did when Eriol was there.

"I wouldn't want to disappoint all your fans," she said, pointing at the girls below them who were trying to get his attention.

'Very interesting,' Syaoran thought, as he did too rolled up his sleeves as Eriol did earlier. He eyed Sakura's slender arm as she positioned her elbow on the table. "I'll use half of my usual strength for your sake," he said before they cupped each other's hands.

Sakura eyed his muscled arm with a gulp as he held onto her hand firmly but not crushing her either.

"Ready? Go!"

With all her might, Sakura tried to push down his arm but he didn't budge at all. She looked up at him and was met with the same serious face he had on the first time she laid eyes on him earlier but she swore he was laughing at her. She could see it in his eyes.

"My turn," he said curtly before easily pushing Sakura's hand down until it hit the end of the table lightly.

Sakura bowed her head in defeat. She knew something like this would happen. She lost the first two games, of course she would lose the third and it being a game of arm-wrestling, of course she'd lose easily.

"Kinomoto-san," the lady with the third box said, holding the box towards Sakura yet again.

"Hai, hai," she replied in a tired voice, taking a piece out and handing it to Mrs. Shizuya.

"Oh my," she looked at the woman who had a laughing look on her face as she read the piece of paper to herself. Her look however was immediately replaced with one of complete seriousness when the opponent whom Sakura still didn't know turned to her with an inquisitive glare.

**xoxo**

Mrs. Shizuya held the paper towards Sakura and Syaoran after the program ended and the audience dispersed back towards the booths.

"Naniiiii?" Sakura shouted as they both read the print.

Syaoran knew it wasn't going to be good from the moment she saw the older woman's amused look once she read the paper on the platform earlier which is why he ordered to avoid saying it aloud to the audience.

"What kind of consequence is this?" Sakura said incredulously, before giving the offending piece of paper back to Mrs. Shizuya. "I don't have time for this kind of game, and I'm sure Mr…."

Syaoran still didn't say a thing.

"…I'm sure _he_ doesn't either," she finished lamely seeing as the man beside her was for the moment, mute.

The group around them composed of Sakura's four employees, Eriol, Tomoyo and two more people whom Sakura hadn't seen or met before, all had amused looks on their faces as they read the consequence paper that Mrs. Shizuya passed along for them to see. Clearly they were having fun at the current situation. They all knew such a thing didn't have to be taken seriously, after all it was just a game. They were mostly amused at watching Sakura who seemed to react so seriously to the whole thing.

Tomoyo lightly and inconspicuously squeezed her hand onto Eriol's arm, a smile and a pleading look on her face.

Eriol raised a brow at her, making her pout a little in return.

Sighing, he tapped Syaoran by the shoulder.

"Your personal assistant gave me a call earlier, she says her daughter has the chicken pox, she has to stay home indefinitely," Eriol informed him with a straight face.

Syaoran couldn't believe the coincidence. But before he could say another word, a girl's voice cut him off.

"Then Sakura will be glad to fill the spot!" Emi piped up with a big grin on her face.

"Yeah, it'll be easy for Sakura since she's had experience being an assistant before," Ayumi added helpfully.

"You girls know I can't do such a thing," Sakura interrupted, giving them a hard look which didn't really look at all intimidating to anyone.

"Yes you can," Hisami spoke up. "Isn't that one of the things Kinomoto-san always tells you? That you should always keep your promises?"

"Technically you did make a promise Sakura, after all you did play the game to start with. You have to accept everything else that comes with it. Including this," Aya said with finality in her voice.

'Everyone's against me. Even otou-san, and he's not even here,' Sakura thought. But what they said was right though, and she always prided herself for doing the right thing.

Syaoran and his group all watched in silence as Sakura was being reprimanded by young girls who looked to be of Sakura's age. Now all of them seemed to consider this whole game seriously.

"You don't have to. I can easily find a replacement assistant," Syaoran said, interrupting the guilt-fest they started which was aimed at Sakura. "I'll just ask one of my other employees to take the position for the mean time."

"You can't do that Syaoran," Eriol told him. "They all have their own jobs to do, and you need your assistant's full attention this week especially. Li Corp.'s annual charity ball is already coming up this Saturday."

Syaoran fell silent, a frown on his face. He forgot about that. He cursed under his breath before turning to Sakura with furrowed brows.

"Can you do it then?" he asked somewhat bitterly and unsurely. His personal assistant was a very hardworking 33 year old woman whom his family knows well and he personally trusted her. This lady, who seemed more like a child to him, he knew nothing about and she was about to take on a role that required him to trust her.

"Hai!" chorused Aya, Emi, Ayumi and Hisami who all looked positively happy with the turn out.

Tomoyo tried to hold down the same joyous look from escaping her serene face as she looked down at the piece of paper in her hands and rereading it again gleefully.

In a very clear and neatly written script, it read: _Slave Duty for 1 Week_.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Whew!

That was a pretty long chapter. But not all the following chapters are gonna be this long though!

I purposely made it this way to get all the characters in and give you an idea on their personalities and to get the whole point of the plot in there as well.

Please review so I'll know if it's worth continuing this story or not.

For now, Ja ne!

**RaNe**


	2. Reporting for Duty

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

**Pairings: **Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo, Mei Lin x OC

Hey ya'll!

Here's the 2nd chapter! I know, fast, huh? Well, I'm gonna be uploading chapters as much as I can while I'm not doing much at home. My current _house arrest_ won't last long though, so I'm using this opportunity to update my stories.

Anyways, this chapter's not as long as the last but I hope you'll enjoy! Read on!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

**"Reporting for Duty"**

* * *

Sakura muttered under breath as she filled the application form that was sent to her flat that very evening. She had only come home and found the manila envelope having Li Corp.'s address already inside her post box.

There was a Bio-Data sheet inside the envelope as well as an unsigned note.

_Hand this in to me personally._

_Come at exactly 8 o'clock sharp._

_My office at Li Corp._

She glared at the form hard, rereading everything she had written.

_Name: Sakura Kinomoto_

_Age: 24 years old_

_Civil Status: Single_

_Address: You'd know that by now won't you?_

_Occupation: I sell stuff_

_Company: A place that sells stuff_

_Monthly Income: Enough to keep me alive_

_Education: I can read and write well enough_

_Family: They're the best in the world, but I don't see how that's relevant_

Sighing, Sakura set down the data sheet back on the table. She knew it was immature of her to write such things but she thought this whole thing was ludicrous. She had her own job to do and now she had to skip it for a week so she can play slave-girl for a man she hardly even knew just because of a game.

Sakura scratched the back of her head in annoyance before jotting down more joking answers to the questions on the form and drawing unidentifiable scribbles on the other blanks she couldn't think of a mocking reply to.

She always keeps her word no matter what, so she decided that she wouldn't back out from doing the job. But if she were to be fired from the job would be a completely different matter.

"I'm going to make you get rid of me even before the day begins!" she declared, very sure of herself, a smug look on her face.

**xoxo**

"Ms. Kinomoto?"

"Uhm…Mrs. Sh-Sh-Shhh…" Sakura racked her brain trying to remember the name Eriol had called her yesterday.

"Shizuya," the woman finished with a slight laugh to her voice.

Sakura grinned at the familiar woman nervously before following her down the lobby.

"Mr. Li specifically asked me to take you to his office," she informed as she stopped in front of one of the many elevators in the large rectangular area at the end of the lobby. "I'm sorry you have to be involved with us like this by the way," she added sounding a little guilty. "I've been asking the other employees if they have any idea who wrote such a consequence and placed them inside the box."

"It's okay, you can't cry over spilled milk."

"I suppose so," Mrs. Shizuya said with a smile before heading into the elevator as it opened in front of them.

Sakura openly gawked at all the buttons beside the elevator doors.

"H-How many floors are in this building?"

"There are precisely one hundred floors in this building, making it one of the tallest skyscrapers here in Tokyo," she replied proudly. "Only ninety-nine however are used as Li Corp. offices."

"I see," Sakura muttered to herself, not comprehending how a single corporation could possibly use ninety-nine floors with only-God-knows how many rooms as offices. "So, which floor is Mr. S-S-" Sakura couldn't remember names for the life of her. She recalled Eriol saying the guy's name at some point and she knew it started with S. 'Or was it an R?' she thought to herself hopelessly. "So, which floor is the guy staying in?" she rephrased.

Mrs. Shizuya looked down at the girl beside her with a slight frown.

"Mr. _Li_'s office is on the ninety-ninth floor," she informed, with an emphasis on 'the guy's name'.

"Eh?"

She looked at Sakura incredulously. "Didn't you know it was Mr. Li you were competing against at yesterday's game? He's the CEO of the entire corporation, the owner of this very building."

Sakura blinked.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?"

**xoxo**

"What the bloody hell is going on out here?" Syaoran demanded fiercely as he stepped out of the double doors to his office, glaring at one of the receptionists stationed just outside it.

The woman shifted in her seat uncomfortably at the glare Syaoran aimed at her before pointing a finger at the end of the well-furnished waiting room, just across his office.

His head snapped towards the open elevator doors where a harassed looking Sakura sat, on the floor with her head bowed down in front of her.

Syaoran cursed under his breath before stalking towards one of the three elevators that connected his office down the main lobby.

"What the hell is going on here?" he barked at Mrs. Shizuya before looking down at the girl on the floor. "Who is this?" he asked, glaring at the woman in front of him.

"It's Ms. Sakura Kinomoto, Mr. Li," she replied calmly.

Sakura looked up at the man in front of him, looking like she was ready to cry.

"Oh, it's you," he said, trying to keep his voice down before turning back towards his office. "Come with me!" he called without looking back.

**xoxo**

Sakura sighed as she closed the doors behind her. The look the two receptionists outside gave her made her shiver.

'What the heck is their problem?' she asked herself before making her way towards the esteemed CEO of Li Corporation who was sitting on his desk, talking to someone on the phone.

"Li Xiao Lang," Sakura read aloud after reading the gold plaque in front of his desk which was written in Chinese.

Syaoran glanced at her making Sakura turn away and walk towards one of the sofa's positioned in the middle of the room.

The room was huge, heck it was even larger than her entire shop and this was supposed to be just an office? There was a coffee table in the middle, surrounded by leather sofas. On one side of the room was Syaoran's desk with the entire wall behind it made of glass, on another side was a bar with high stools and a lot of glasses of different kinds behind the counter and even more bottle of different sorts of alcohol. The side opposite the bar had the entire wall covered in shelves of books with a large and relaxing looking chair in front of it. The last wall held the doors where Sakura just came in from and a door each on either side of it. Sakura figured one of those doors must've lead to a bathroom.

"Are you done with surveillance?" a deep voice behind her said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Sorry," Sakura muttered before heading back towards him and taking one of the two seats in front of his desk.

"Ms. Kinomoto is it?" he asked, making the girl in front of her nod mutely. "Did you bring what I asked you to?"

This was what Sakura dreaded. She gripped onto the manila envelope tightly before turning to him with an awkward look on her face.

"You see, I didn't really think you were serious about that whole Bio-Data thing. After all, this is all happening just because of a game and-"

"Did you bring it or not?" he asked, cutting her short.

"H-Hai, but-"

"Then give it to me," he ordered, cutting her short again with his arm outstretched.

Sakura, very hesitantly, gave up the manila envelope and shut her eyes, looking down embarrassed. She intended to insult her 'boss' through the form so she'd never get the position as a personal assistant but she never thought her 'boss' was the CEO of the entire damned corporation, this just made the whole situation humiliating. If she knew he had such a high ranking position, she would've tried some other tactic that wasn't so…immature.

Syaoran looked at her before opening the envelope and taking out its contents.

'This girl…' he thought to himself as he read what she had written on the blanks of the form in his hands. He was at a loss for words on how to describe her.

"Ms. Kinomoto," he said looking at her intently. "Did you know you were handing this form to me?"

"Yes," she admitted. "But I never knew you were the CEO of this company when I was writing that," she told him honestly. "If I knew that earlier, I would've at least answered the form more...properly."

Syaoran was slightly surprised she didn't know him, and more surprised that she didn't even know she had been involved in a game just yesterday with the CEO of a large corporation. 'What rock does this girl live under?' he asked himself, eyeing her thoughtfully before handing the form back to her.

Sakura took it from him and looked at him questioningly.

"I want you to read aloud the contents of that form and tell me which is a lie and which isn't," he ordered in a calm tone.

She looked at him weirdly before looking down and did as she was told. "Name, Sakura Kinomoto, age, twenty-four years old, civi-"

"You're actually twenty-four?" he interrupted.

"Yes, how old did you think I am?"

'Nineteen,' he thought to himself before nodding at her to go on.

"Civil status, single, address, err…" she looked at him unsure. "Every answer I wrote from this point are all, well, jokes."

"Then read the given and tell me the truth instead. The main reason why I had this sent to your workplace was because I intend to know more about you, after all you are going to be working close with me for the entire week. It would calm my soul to know that you aren't some murderous lunatic who escaped from a mental asylum overseas."

Sakura giggled at this, making him raise a brow at her, face still serious as ever.

"Sorry," she replied immediately, trying to wipe the smile off her face before continuing. "Okay, uhm…address, you actually do know that already. It's the exact place you had this envelope sent to."

"I was told by my driver that he had sent it to your workplace since it was the only address they got after looking you up."

"You had your guys look me up?" she asked incredulously. "Anyway, yes, I do live there. The ground floor is where my shop is, where as the second floor is where I live in and the third floor is used for…my own purposes," she finished lamely. She couldn't very well tell the man that she turned the entire rooftop into a glass enclosed green house to grow her own flowers. "I own the entire three-story building which you already know is located in one of the few suburban areas here in Tokyo."

Syaoran nodded looking bored already though he was anything but. This girl was really something else.

"Occupation," Sakura continued, "florist, company, I own the shop by myself, monthly income-"

"That'll be enough," he interrupted her yet again with a hand held up in front of him. "I think I can assume from what you've said so far that you indeed aren't some murderous lunatic who escaped from a mental asylum overseas."

Sakura giggled yet again at his quip.

"Here," he slid over a paper, a cell phone and a ring with keys over to the end of his desk towards her. "That's a list of my personal assistant's duties, make sure you're in time to do all that. Also, keep this cell with you at all times, I'll be giving you calls from time to time especially when new things come up. My number is on speed dial '1' and all the numbers to the building's different departments and offices as well as every employee's numbers are already listed in there. Since this is a full-time job, of course, you will be paid for your daily services until the last day which is this Sunday. Any questions?"

Trying to take all that information in, she held the keys up. "What are these for?"

Syaoran took the keys back from her before holding each one by one. "This is for my office doors," he said, nodding to the double doors across the room. "This is the elevator key to my penthouse, and this one, you'll find out sooner or later."

Sakura nodded unsurely before rising from her chair, the keys, cell phone and piece of paper in hand.

"Oh and Kinomoto-san," she turned, almost falling as he said this. "Welcome to Li Corp.," he said with a half smirk, half smile before picking up the phone on his desk and turning in his chair, towards the glass wall behind him.

That was the very first time Sakura actually saw a smile on the man's face. Well, it wasn't really a smile but it was a big change from having to see the constant glare or expressionless look on his face, and if she must admit, he looked quite refreshing.

"TELL HIM TO COME UP HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"HOEEEEEE!" Sakura screamed as she fell through the double doors and outside his office at the sound of his boss' voice. "I take it back, he isn't at all refreshing!" she told herself, gripping her sore butt as she stood up.

**xoxo**

"How are you girls doing back there?" Sakura asked, with her cell phone held between her ear and her shoulder as she walked back into the building, her hands full with paper bags.

"Aren't personal assistants required to give 24 hour attention to their boss?" Aya replied with a laugh in her voice. "Seriously Sakura, we're doing fine here. We have a few orders but nothing we can't handle."

"Fine, keep an eye on the other girls, remember I left you in charge Aya."

"Haiii…"

"Alright, I'll give you another call later this afternoon. Ja!"

Pocketing her own cell, she took out the keys he gave her and slipped it in the keyhole beside a gold button which Sakura hadn't even noticed before. She turned the key and pressed the button.

Sakura almost screamed her head off at the speed the elevator was going the moment she pressed the button. "That man is absolutely crazy!" she shouted to no one in particular since she was the only one inside the elevator.

The elevator rang pleasantly as it stopped and the doors slid open. "Welcome home Mr. Li," a female voice greeted from a speaker inside the elevator said.

"Absolutely crazy," Sakura muttered to herself before staggering out of the elevator and towards the only door across the circle-shaped room which was furnished with chairs made of dark wood and several potted plants.

Figuring the third key was for his penthouse's front door, Sakura held the key in front of the keyhole until she noticed the door to be already slightly open.

"Seriously, its one thing to not lock up, but to not even bother closing the door is absolutely ridiculous," she muttered yet again. The day wasn't even half over yet and she found herself already muttering to herself over a lot of things she didn't agree with, with regards to her boss.

Sakura walked into the penthouse and gasped. The place was so grand, so beautiful, she felt like she was looking at a picture from one of the magazines she flips through from time to time that held photos of the collective work of interior designers and architects.

Mentally slapping herself, Sakura scolded herself and went over to the nearest table and placed all the bags on it. It wasn't the time to admire the place where her new 'boss' lived. She was supposed to figure out a way to get herself fired.

She sighed and took out the list Syaoran had given her earlier that day.

_8:00 AM – Report to Li Corp._

_8:15 AM – I expect the day's newspaper and any mail I might have on my desk_

_11:00 AM – Make preparations for lunch_

_1:00 PM to 3:00 PM – Daily meeting; Take any calls I might have during this time_

_4:00 PM – Report to my secretary and collect all the paperwork finished for the day and bring them to my office_

_5:00 PM – You may take your leave_

Sakura looked at the list with a smug look on her face. She thought there was more to being a personal assistant but judging from all that Syaoran wrote down for her to do, there really wasn't much to it. Her reporting time to the office is even at 8 o'clock in the morning instead of the usual 7 o'clock she set for herself when she works at the flower shop.

Taking out the frozen food in the bag, she started cooking the lunch Syaoran had called her that he wanted for that day.

**xoxo**

"Eriiiii-ol!" Tomoyo greeted in a sing-song voice. "Are you busy?"

The man on the other line raised a brow at his cell. "What do you want?" he asked suspiciously.

"You're no fun!"

"I can easily tell if you want something from me love."

Eriol chuckled hearing his fiancée huffing on the phone.

"I just want to visit you that's all," she finally said.

"And could this 'visit' probably involve a certain girl with green eyes and honey brown hair who is coincidentally in the same building as I am at this very moment?" he asked accusingly.

Bulls-eye.

"Can I? Can I? Can I?" Tomoyo asked eagerly, standing from her chair and grinning from ear to ear. "I'll be there for you too you know."

"Ouch," Eriol replied in feigned hurt before chuckling at her enthusiasm. "If you can make it, we can have lunch together and we'll ask Sakura-san if she wants to join us f-"

"I'm coming right now!" she squealed before slamming the phone back into its cradle on top of her desk. She giggled to herself, getting more excited before taking a deep breath and stepping out of her office. "Everyone!" she said over the noise, clapping her hands in a demure fashion to get everyone's attention.

All the men and women around her stopped what they were doing and looked over to their boss.

"I'll be going out for lunch today, please take care of things for me while I'm gone," she announced in her usual kind voice with a gentle smile playing on her lips.

"Hai!" Everyone chorused, watching Tomoyo make a graceful bow before making her way towards the elevator.

"Daidouji-san really is too perfect," one of the women in the room said in a sigh as the elevator doors closed.

"She really is the most sophisticated lady I've ever met," said one of the men in agreement.

Little did they know that their 'perfect' and 'sophisticated' boss who was currently alone in the elevator, was humming loudly to the elevator music and jumping around lightly in a very giddy mood.

**xoxo**

Sakura smelled the aroma coming from the steak she had just prepared for Syaoran, starting to get hungry herself. Taking out the strawberries she had bought along with the steak, she started eating from the container.

"It really does taste too good," she told herself, sighing contently after taking a bite.

Humming to herself, she poured the contents of the entire container into a bowl and set it beside the plate of steak.

'He sure is taking his time,' Sakura thought, glancing at her watch before scanning the room. She had set Syaoran's lunch on the round table which was set in what Sakura thought to be a lounge area where long sofas, an electrical fireplace and a flat screen TV were set in the middle. One of the walls where similar to Syaoran's office, made of glass, while the other walls held various sorts of paintings and shelves. "A true bachelor's pad," she told herself.

That thought got her rethinking, was the man even a bachelor? She didn't know. In fact, she only just realized that she knew nothing about him at all. He went on about the possibility of her being some murderous lunatic who escaped from a mental asylum overseas when he might be one as well. Of course, she highly doubted that, but the fact still remained, she knew nothing of her 'boss', not even the basic stuff like his age or his civil status.

**xoxo**

Tomoyo paced in Syaoran's office as the two men were talking business.

"Can't you two continue this discussion upstairs?" Tomoyo complained, slamming a foot down on the carpeted floor.

"Just go ahead upstairs Tomoyo," Syaoran said without looking up from the paper he was currently reading.

"We'll meet with you in a bit," Eriol said, nodding at her.

She grinned before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Come up soon!" she called out, leaping in a joyous mood yet again towards the double doors.

As the doors behind her closed, Syaoran looked up at Eriol. "Every day I wonder how long she can keep that façade up," he said in serious speculation.

Eriol merely smiled at him. "She's had the whole world fooled for years now, I don't see them finding out anytime soon."

**xoxo**

Nodding to the receptionists outside Syaoran's office politely, Tomoyo slowly made her way towards the elevators. Slipping her key into the hole and pressing the gold button, Tomoyo squealed in excitement as the door opened.

"Welcome home Mr. Li."

She dashed towards Syaoran's penthouse door, not minding the usual greeting voice from the elevator.

"Hello?" she called out in a soft voice as she opened the door she knew would be unlocked as usual.

As she took a step inside, the smell of food caught her attention. The plate of steak and the bowl of strawberries beside it only proved to Tomoyo that Sakura was indeed somewhere inside.

'But nowhere in sight,' Tomoyo thought, scanning the lounge area. She went over to the kitchen, not there. The game room? Not there. The bedroom? Unlikely. The bathroom? Not there. Syaoran's closet? 'Why would she be there in the first place?' Tomoyo thought to herself ridiculously before going in to check anyway. Not there. The guest bedroom? Not there. The storage room? Not there. The second guest bedroom? Not there. The third guest bedroom? Not there. The last place left was the least used or visited area of Syaoran's flat, the roof garden.

Tomoyo looked through the glass doors and found her.

**xoxo**

Sakura was in awe at discovering such a magnificent view, here of all places too. The sun was out today with a few clouds overhead and the pleasant weather only made the terrace even more beautiful in her eyes. She never would have figured that a roof garden could still exist at the top of a hundred story building. She couldn't even imagine what would happen if there was a storm, the wind at this height would surely be too strong for the flowers to handle. Making a mental note to ask Syaoran about that later, she breathed in the wondrous scent of the assortment of flowers around her, turning with her arms spread out. She didn't even dare walk over to the side where a high wall stood but not high enough for Sakura not to see over it. Besides that, she was perfectly contented at staying where she stood now, in the middle of the terrace which was tiled with bricks.

The terrace was on one corner of the building, two sides were all open space where as the other two were made of glass that covered the inside of the penthouse. Assortments of flowers were displayed in a random arrangement of flower beds with a weird looking figure Sakura assumed was Syaoran's side of humor for a scarecrow. There was a large umbrella in the middle of the bricked area with a table and two lounge chairs you usually find beside swimming pools.

It certainly was a relaxing place, the entire scene was all too beautiful and perfect, Sakura decided…until her eyes landed on the 'scarecrow'.

'Except for that,' she thought, approaching the ugly looking thing. She ran her hand onto the piece of metal that looked like it was melted to form a human, or something like a human.

At this point, Tomoyo couldn't hold in her excitement anymore. She had enjoyed watching Sakura from inside, but she really wanted to talk to her, get to know her.

"Sakura-CHAAAANN!" she exclaimed loudly, jumping out of the sliding doors that led to the roof garden.

"HOEEEEEEEEEE!"

Tomoyo froze, an arm still raised in the air as Sakura screamed and jumped back, hitting the piece behind her, sending it and her along with it to the ground.

Both girls shut their eyes as a loud crash erupted.

"H-Hoeeee" Sakura said miserably as the part she early-on figured was the scarecrow's head rolled towards the new comer's feet.

Tomoyo looked down at the piece of metal and picked it up. 'Oh no,' she thought, looking down at it with a concerned look before turning to Sakura. "H-Hey Sakura-chan!" she greeted again but now with less enthusiasm in her voice.

"Daidouji-san!"

Sakura immediately got up and bowed as she greeted her, while still looking nervously at the piece of metal in her hands.

"Uhm…a-about the scarecrow."

"Eh?" Tomoyo looked at her questioningly. "Scarecrow?"

Sakura pointed to the thing in between her palms.

"A-Ahhh…you mean the Co- ah…this thing?" Tomoyo asked, holding the piece of metal up, making Sakura nod.

Tomoyo sweat dropped. 'She's actually referring to the Coeur d'acier as a scarecrow,' she thought, laughing albeit nervously before looking down at the broken piece.

"Daidouji-san?"

"Hai?"

"I should try to fix it."

"You don't have to Sakura-chan, this thing is worthless anyway."

"What's worthless?"

Tomoyo jumped at the new, deeper voice that joined in their conversation, making her drop the piece she was holding.

Both men looked down as a piece of the Coeur d'acier rolled over towards them.

Syaoran picked it up.

"Anyone care to explain this?" he asked with furrowed brows, mainly looking at Sakura since she was the one beside the piece that had been broken.

"Y-You see…ah…"

"It's my fault Syaoran," Tomoyo said, looking guilty. "I'll replace the piece in time for the auction and I'll pay for the rest of its worth."

Sakura didn't understand what Tomoyo was talking about but understood the situation well enough. She was trying to take the blame for what she did.

"No its not, I'll pay for it!"

Syaoran, Eriol and Tomoyo turned to her.

"Are you even able to?" Syaoran asked with a raised brow.

"For that metal scarecrow? I'm pretty sure I can," Sakura replied sincerely.

The two men blinked.

"Metal scarecrow?" Eriol repeated a bit baffled at her description of the masterpiece that was just destroyed.

"Sakura-chan, seriously, I c-"

"Alright, you can write me a check as soon as the charity ball is over," Syaoran said with a nod, cutting of Tomoyo's attempts to save the girl from a large debt.

"Syaoran," Tomoyo said, sounding serious which was unusual even for him. "It was really both our faults, and I'm serious about replacing it. If Sakura has to pay, let her pay the amount that my piece can't cover for the Coeur d'acier."

Syaoran looked at her then over to the girl she was trying so hard to protect.

He nodded at his future cousin-in-law nonchalantly, deciding to give Sakura the chance. He knew Tomoyo can easily pay it off, but at least Tomoyo knew him well enough to know that he's not letting Sakura off the hook that easily either. Tomoyo's proposition to let Sakura take half of the responsibility of the fault was the best thing she can do to help the situation.

Syaoran wanted to give Sakura a reality check on life. He didn't know anyone who lived like nothing else mattered besides doing what you wanted and being happy about it, until now. That's what Syaoran didn't like about Sakura the most, she's taking life and its problems as if it didn't matter. But it did, and he wanted her to realize that. The girl was taking everything too lightly and he knew this after the short time he knew her, especially from the moment he read her Bio-Data form. He had never met anyone with such a disposition before, and now that he did, it somewhat irritated him to see her so happy, too happy and too easily. Others have to work for their happiness where as she's sailing through it without lifting a finger.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I hope you enjoyed this!

Quite frankly, I'm surprised more of my readers like my other newly uploaded story **Lies and Love** compared to this one. I admit, I've put more heart into this particular story unlike the other. Hmm…I guess different people have different tastes? Then again, this story has more depth and is much more _lengthy_ compared to the other one. Who knows.

_But_…the readers have spoken.

So, due to more reviews and demands coming from my readers for **Lies and Love**, I've been driven to writing more chapters for that story now. I started with **Key to Happiness** first but I'm getting more inspiration for the other one lately because of all your comments. So, I might be updating that story more for now. I won't be abandoning this story though, that's for sure (although still tentative, I actually have the next couple chapters lined up already).

For now, take care! Ja ne!

**RaNe**


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

**Pairings: **Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo, Mei Lin x OC

Not much to say for now. Read the Author's Note at the end of the chapter.

Read and please review! I hope you enjoy this.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**"Surprise, Surprise"**

* * *

Sakura went over beside Tomoyo as the men left and went back inside.

"What was that about?" she asked, really not understanding what they were talking about.

Tomoyo smiled at her. "Nothing at all! Now come, I've been so excited to see you again Sakura-chan!"

"Eh?"

"Come," she said as she immediately pulled her back inside. "I've wanted to speak with ever since we first met."

"B-But why?"

Tomoyo stopped and turned to look at her, a thoughtful look on her face, before she turned yet again and pulled her towards the sofas of the lounge room. "I just find you interesting that's all, and very kawaii!"

"Ahh…" Sakura didn't know what to make of that statement.

"So," she started as they both sat down. "You're a florist, you own your own shop, and you're living away from your family. Your single, you have friends who work for one of the company's under Li Corp., what else can you tell me about you? How is your father as a college professor? And how is your brother? Touya is his name right? What's your favorite color? Do you like to shop?"

"Hoeee…" Sakura stared at her, at a loss of what to say.

"Oh don't be freaked out or anything! I just had some people look you up that's all. That's why I know some stuff about you. But I want to know you personally. So? Favorite color? Hobbies?"

She looked at Tomoyo, unsure if the girl was just plain interested in her or she's just weird and has the habit of stalking.

"Uhm…pink."

"Oh! Me too! I like pink, I use it often whenever I design and work on my spring and winter collection!"

"Sakura."

The two girls turned to the men who were on the dining table not far from them.

"Hai?"

"Where's the gravy for my steak?"

"I didn't put any, but I'm sure it'll taste just as good, I made sure of it. Gravy's not really good for you."

Syaoran looked at her incredulously before turning to Eriol, who just shrugged back at him.

"Did you cook this yourself?"

"Yeah, you did say you wanted steak. Was I wrong?"

He didn't reply, as he analyzed the piece of well-cooked meat in front of him. He didn't expect her to actually cook his meal. He figured she would buy his meals from the restaurants nearby, he had a list of them and their phone numbers stuck to the refrigerator.

"What's wrong?"

Syaoran shook his head at Eriol. 'I haven't had a home-cooked meal in a while.'

**xoxo**

The rest of the week has been a hectic one. Ever since Sakura broke the 'scarecrow' from Syaoran's penthouse garden, she decided not to cause another commotion for herself and just do the one week slavery consequence without a fuss. Deciding this, she found the experience to be quite an interesting although tiring experience. Besides the schedule Syaoran had arranged for her, she had to do side-jobs as well which she never figured was involved in her 'job'. She had picked up Syaoran's laundry, chatted with a woman who claimed to be his girl friend while he was in a meeting, written his mail, held a sandwich for him to eat _while_ he was writing his mail, chatted with _another_ woman who claimed to be his girl friend, and right now, she picking out a gift for his girl friend. To which girl friend, Sakura didn't even know.

Leaving the jewelry shop in a sigh, Sakura glanced down at her wristwatch and dashed to the sidewalk for a taxi. She was late. Besides being Syaoran's personal assistant, over the past 4 days, she's spent a lot of time with Tomoyo. She found herself really liking the…eccentric woman. Although she became weird from time to time, she got used to it and she was actually happy to have her company every single day while she was at Li Corp. Tomoyo always dropped by for lunch and it became a short routine for them.

Until today.

"Arigatou," Sakura said with a smile and a bow of the head to the taxi driver as it stopped in front of a 4-story, pale yellow painted building. "Hoeee…" she looked up at the display window where an elegant white wedding gown was displayed beautifully with a plain pastel purple backdrop. There was another display window on the second story which held another elegant gown which was colored in pale purple with a backdrop of white.

"May I help you?"

Sakura snapped out of her reverie and turned to the doorman who stood not far from her, just beneath the large sign that was written in an elegant script: 'Daidouji Designs'.

"H-Hai, I'm here for Tomo- Uhm…Ms. Daidouji. Is she here?"

"You may take the elevator Miss. Ms. Daidouji's office is the 4th floor," he replied in a very kind tone along with a deep bow.

Bowing back awkwardly, Sakura stepped into the building and immediately spotted the reception desk in the front. 'Of course, I'm the only person who would ask a doorman the whereabouts of their employer,' she thought in mild amusement of her stupidity.

"May I help you?"

Sakura turned to the receptionist and got the same instructions from the doorman.

"Thank you," she said with a bow before slowly making her way towards where the elevator supposedly was. All around her were dresses of different styles and colors all hung and displayed in a way that made the customers who might come in admire it even more. Changing rooms were in one side and Sakura could see ladies with measuring tapes held by their necks and customers who were trying out Tomoyo's creation.

Grinning from ear to ear now, at only just finding out of Tomoyo's success, Sakura continued down the hallway and into the elevator. There were four buttons at the side, each with a label.

_Ground Floor – Casual Dresses_

_1__st__ Floor – Formal Gowns_

_2__nd__ Floor – Employees Only_

_3__rd__ Floor – Head's Office_

Sakura bowed at the woman who entered the elevator with her as she reached the 3rd floor before taking a peek. People were bustling pass the elevators carrying rolls of fabric and boxes of different sorts of utensils.

"We're always so busy especially at this time of year," the woman said, seeing the look on Sakura's face.

"Of course," she replied with a smile until the elevator doors re-opened.

"Sakura-chan!"

Seeing Tomoyo's face just as the elevator doors surprised her, "H-How did you know I was ins-"

"The receptionist told you someone was coming up looking for me," she said with a soft smile and nodded formally to her employee beside Sakura, before dragging her along. "I'm sorry about this, we are kind of busy."

"Kind of?" Sakura repeated, watching the scene before her. She would have expected the whole floor to be a quiet office or something like it but it was anything but. People were running about with dresses and gowns in their hands as well as well as boxes of different threads, beads, scissors, and other things.

"This floor may be my office but this is also where I make the designs for my clients and check on the construction. It has to pass through me before it gets brought down to the 2nd or ground floor," she explained before wounding her way around a throng of people and things before stepping into a large and very bright, secluded room. "We won't be disturbed here," she said, closing the door behind her before taking a seat on one of the sofas surrounding a coffee table in the middle of the office. "I took the liberty of preparing tea."

"Arigatou, Tomoyo."

Stars started twinkling in her eyes. "Ohhh…I can't help but feel so happy and excited whenever you say my name!"

Sakura sweat dropped. Ever since she agreed to call her by her first name just yesterday, Tomoyo wouldn't stop getting the same reaction whenever she did.

"Anyway, shall we talk business?" she asked more seriously now but still having a wide smile on her face. "After all, this is the main reason why you are here."

"I-If we must," Sakura said rather halfheartedly.

"Sakura-chan, you have to be more excited than that, and I even saw to the beadwork personally!"

"You didn't have to do that. Like I said, I'd be perfectly happy to borrow one of your ready-made gowns."

Tomoyo shook her head disapprovingly. "There is no way I'll let you get caught at the charity ball with one of my old creations. What will people think when they see you in one that's already been posted in one of the fashion magazines?"

"They'll think I'm just an ordinary personal assistant. Which I really am by the way," she pointed out.

"You're not just a personal assistant, you're Xiao Lang's personal assistant. And this charity ball is something that happens every year held by Syaoran himself. What would people think then if his personal assistant can't even dress appropriately to the event?"

"They'll think I'm just a temporary personal assistant whom people shouldn't expect to have an abnormally large paycheck to be able to afford a new and original gown for such an event. Which, again, is what I really am," Sakura reasoned yet again.

Tomoyo couldn't help but giggle at this. "Oh Sakura, you really are something! But the circumstances are different. You are a friend of mine and I personally want to see to it that you will come to that ball at your finest! So don't think of this as something you must do because you're Syaoran's personal assistant. Instead think that you're doing this because I want you to. As a friend I mean and not as the designer of your gown."

Sakura didn't really get the sense of what she said so she merely nodded in defeat. Ever since Tomoyo got measurements from her 3 days ago, they've been having this similar conversation every time, and it's about time she just let things be and let her do as she pleases. After all, it is just for a night.

"Splendid!"

With that said, Sakura watched as she headed out her office. But not before taking a deep breath and setting a composed face before opening the door. Sakura had noticed this from Tomoyo a lot lately and she didn't quite get it. When it was just the two of them or just them with Syaoran and Eriol in the room, she acted quite normal, like an average girl who actually giggles and enjoys long talks about shopping and such. But when other people are present she suddenly turns into this sophisticated and well-mannered young woman, not letting her emotions escape her and run amuck like how she frequently does when they're in private.

'I'll have to ask her about that,' she thought, taking note of it in her head.

"Thank you Mia."

Sakura turned to the door when she heard Tomoyo's voice. She was back and this time she held the most beautiful gown she has ever seen.

When the door closed behind the woman who assisted Tomoyo in bringing the gown inside, she turned to the wide-eyed Sakura with a giggle.

"You like it?"

"Me like it," Sakura said, nodding dumbly, still ogling at the gown.

**xoxo**

"Forgive me?" Syaoran murmured as he trailed light butterfly kisses along the crook of her neck.

She moaned in pleasure, eyes half-closed.

"If you keep doing that, I don't exactly have a choice."

Syaoran chuckled at this. "Do you like it?"

"How can I not? It's beautiful," she whispered, raising her wrist and eyeing the magnificent piece of white-gold jewelry he had just given her. "Where did you get this Syaoran?"

"Just one of the jewelry shops near here," he managed to say, as his kisses slowly trailed down towards her chest.

The low cut of the front of her dress only made things easier for him.

"Syaoran…" she moaned loudly as he held one of her breasts through the thin fabric.

"Chloe…"

**xoxo**

"Ohayo!" Sakura greeted cheerfully to the guards who stood by one of the entrances outside Li Corp.

The guard nodded at her with a gently smile on his face. "Ohayo Sakura."

She grinned as she took out one of the tulips within the bouquet she was carrying and gave it to him.

"Have a nice day Mr. Okada!"

As she walked past the lobby and reception area, Sakura was leaping jovially, greeting almost everyone she as she made her way towards one of the two elevators that lead to Syaoran's office and penthouse. She actually enjoyed working at Li Corp., save for the times when she got the bad end of Syaoran's mood, which was quite often. But she didn't mind it, in fact she just passed it off and still treated him nicely, concluding that he must be constantly in a bad mood due to his job or something. This being the day before the last day of her job as his personal assistant made her actually excited to go to work, not to mention the charity ball that evening made her ecstatic. After all, it'll be the first time she'll attend such a high-class event and with such a beautiful gown by one of the famous designers around too.

Humming to herself with the elevator music, Sakura watched as the lights atop the elevator doors quickly lighted up as it passed the many floors before Syaoran's penthouse. After riding the thing every single day, she actually got used to the abnormal speed.

"Welcome home Mr. Li."

"Good morning Ms. Elevator-san," Sakura said towards the speaker located in the elevator before taking the key out of the hole and giggling to herself.

She leaped towards Syaoran's door, carrying the tulips with one hand and a paper bag in the other.

"Ohayo," she called into the empty lounge room, before heading towards the small dining table that had the other day's flowers she brought it. She took the vase gingerly before heading towards the kitchen.

**xoxo**

Yawning, Chloe slowly opened her eyes and saw the sunlight seep in from below the curtains.

"Syaoran…" she whispered, shaking the handsome man beside her. "I'm thirsty."

"Mmmm…" he muttered, making her giggle.

Chloe stood from the bed and stretched her long arms in the air. The photo shoots she's done for the past few weeks required her to wake up unreasonably early in the morning, she can't help but do the same today.

'Sometimes being a model is so tiring," she thought before taking Syaoran's white, long sleeved, button-down shirt and covering her slender naked body. "I'll be right back," she whispered into his ear before leaving the guest bedroom.

She never really understood why Syaoran always insisted that they stay in one of the guest bedrooms. Not that she minded of course, the guest bedroom was even bigger than her own room back at her apartment. She just never fully understands why Syaoran insists they stay there and not in his own bedroom. In fact, she's never even been inside his bedroom now that she thought about it.

Chloe's thoughts, however, was cut off by a sudden scream.

"AHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHH!" Chloe screamed back, seeing the wide-eyed girl in front of her.

"G-Gomenasai!" Sakura said, blushing furiously as she saw the woman in front of her.

"I-It's alright" Chloe replied unsurely. "Who are you?"

"S-S-Sakura," she replied, looking down on the ground as if the tiles on the floor were much more interesting to watch. "I'm Li-kun's personal assistant."

"Oh, really? I never knew he had a new personal assistant."

Chloe walked passed Sakura and towards the counter for a glass of water.

"I-I'm sorry for interrupting. I-I didn't know Li-kun had company. In fact, I didn't even know he'd be here at this hour," Sakura explained, still avoiding from looking at the barely covered up woman. 'I can't even imagine what they've been doing!'

"It's alright. I come here from time to time. Syaoran actually wakes up late on Saturdays and Sundays, he goes down to his office sometimes but usually it's a break for him," she informed Sakura casually as he leaned onto the black marble counter behind her while drinking the glass of water. "Are you okay?"

Sakura's blush deepened. "I-I'm sorry for catching you…uhm…dressed like this. I mean…that-"

Chloe looked down at her attire and smiled. "It's okay, I'm actually quite used to it. I've done nude shoots before, and most of the clothes designers make me wear these days are so revealing, I might as well be nude," she said fondly, a smile on her face.

Now Sakura can't help but look at her. The blonde woman did look awfully familiar. Maybe she'd seen her in some of the fashion magazines she had at home.

"I'm Chloe by the way," she introduced, a slender arm held towards Sakura.

Sakura took it and bowed her head.

"I'm half American, if you're wondering about this," she said as she ran her hand through her long blonde locks.

"O-Of course."

"Anyway, I have to get back to bed Syaoran, he might wake up soon. Ja, Sakura."

Sakura watched her leave. "Hoeee…"

Face still red, she took the flower vase now full of tulips off the counter and the plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, and placed them on the dining table by the lounge area.

'Sakura, you baka! You shouldn't have come here, that's why the schedule he gave you didn't have anything planned for Saturday and Sunday. He has _other_ plans!' she scolded herself with the shudder at the thought of what he and Chloe must have done all night. She shook her head of the weird images that came to mind, before taking her keys, her bag and left the penthouse in a hurried silence.

**xoxo**

"Sakura! How can you not know your own boss?"

Scratching the back of her head guiltily, Sakura merely smiled at them, still at a loss.

"It's enough that you've ditched us every lunch break for the whole week," Chiharu said in mock hurt, but still making Sakura very guilty. She has been spending her lunch breaks with Tomoyo lately, until today and that was because Tomoyo was busy with final touches for a few late-ordered gowns. "You should at least know a thing or two about your boss from all the time you've spent around him," Chiharu continued, getting back her attention.

"Yeah, now we don't think it's actually worth it that you ditched us for him seeing as you still have no clue about who he is!" Rika said in a disappointed tone.

"I don't get it. He's just your typical male, he's not much different from any of the guys I know," she replied with a frown and thinking of her father immediately. 'Well, he's not as nice as otou-san, that's for sure, and he's not as gentle, or as helpful, or as caring. But, he is a hard worker, and very serious with his job, and he's got a nice smile, and those tantalizing amber eyes, and-' Sakura shook her head furiously, not believing where her thoughts have drifted. Spending too much time with her boss has gotten to her. 'It's perfectly normal to notice a person's good qualities, and that includes physical features,' she convinced herself. Syaoran might be overbearing sometimes and really rude too but when Sakura does find him smiling- well, smirking is more like it, he did look very appealing to her at those times. 'He should really try smiling sometimes, he'd look even more handsome I bet, he could-' Sakura shook her head yet again, appalled by her own thoughts.

"Oy! Sakura! Are you even listening to us?" Sakura snapped back to reality and faced her three friends with a look of guilt.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Anyway, what did you say?"

Just then, a sudden and sharp whack sounded, making her jump. She turned to Naoko and she was holding a long metal thing that Sakura could swear was an antenna from a television or something, and beside her, Rika was holding on to another one of those boards.

Sakura looked around. 'Where do these girls pull those out from?'

"Sakura! Your attention please!" Naoko scolded, looking serious.

"H-Hai!" she said, straightening her back on her chair.

"Li Xiao Lang, or more commonly known and called by his peers as 'Syaoran'," Naoko started, as she continued down the list of basic information.

_Age: 25 years old_

_Status: Single_

_Occupation: Businessman_

_Company: Li Corporation_

_Position: Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Li Corp._

_Personality: __Seductive, Controlling, Clever_

_Special: His smile_

"He is known for being the youngest CEO currently working in Japan. 'Li Corp.' is the company owned by his family which started in China. His sisters run the different branches in China, the eldest running the very first branch which is located in Hong Kong. Syaoran started Li Corp.'s branch here in Japan all by himself and is currently taking reigns of the entire business here. Being a businessman, he is very serious, always working tip-top early in the morning until the wee hours of the night. Besides being a hard worker and being serious with his job, he's also quite a lady's man. He's dated a number of women and a handful of them are either actresses or international supermodels," Naoko sighed with a smile playing on her lips after her speech about Syaoran before turning to said man's personal assistant who was left silent on her seat. "Sakura?"

"Hai?" Sakura said in barely a squeak. To put it in simply, the first line on the board already shocked her. 'He's 25 years old?' she thought incredulously. He was only a year older than her and already he held this sort of status in the business world. Sakura frowned slightly at this, wondering what sort of childhood he must have had for having such a high rank now when he's only 25. Another thing that got to her was Naoko's last statement. Of course it didn't surprise her that he's a player, it did somehow disappoint her though. 'What am I thinking?' she thought, scolding herself mentally at how her mind was running.

"Oy, Sakura!"

Sakura snapped back to reality yet again and sent a guilty look towards her friends. "Sorry, I just seem a bit out of it today."

"I bet I know why," Chiharu said with a grin on her face.

"Eh?" Sakura said, looking blank.

"Your excited for the charity ball tonight aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess that's it," she lied. Well, it wasn't totally a lie, she was excited to attend her first extravagant event. And she didn't want to admit that she had such weird thoughts about her boss either.

"Must be great to attend that ball," Naoko said with a sigh.

"Yeah, all the nice food, beautiful gowns-"

"-hot, rich guys," Rika ended for her, earning a nudge from Chiharu. "Ow! Well, it's true though!" she defended with a laugh.

The group laughed at this.

"Why aren't you girls going? You all work under Li Corp."

"Sadly, we aren't in that 'rank' yet Sak," Chiharu said regretfully. "The people who are invited to go are our bosses mainly, and their wives and or husbands, as well as their personal assistants or secretaries."

"But why?"

"Well, it is a charity ball. Basically what happens there is you get this fancy dinner, which I hear, costs a lot too. That's why whoever attends has to be damn stinking rich to afford it!" Rika said.

"You're lucky to have such a wealthy boss," Naoko said sounding slightly envious. "Our boss couldn't afford to pay for all the employees to attend. The managers of the different companies usually pay for their assistants or secretaries because they need them for the auction."

At the mention of an auction, Sakura was lost.

"During the event, besides the dinner, a program's set through the whole night. You know, entertainment and such, but the main attraction is the auction that happens before the night is over," Chiharu supplied. "Those people of wealth contribute by donating stuff like expensive jewelry, antiques, even works of art like statues, paintings and such. That's what attracts the elite even from other countries to attend the ball, they come and buy the pieces donated by other people of the wealthy. Most of them are avid art collectors after all. In my opinion, spending so much money for a weird painting or another is a waste of money, but then all the money will be given to charity, so that's okay."

Sakura was in wonder how these girls knew so much. Then again, they have worked under Li Corp. for a year and a half now.

"Make sure to tell us everything about it alright?" Rika said excitedly, making Sakura nod.

"Oh yeah, do you have anything to wear Sakura?"

After this question was raised, Sakura began explaining the reason why she hasn't spent much time with them during their lunch breaks which was a routine they had for so long, explaining to them that she'd become close to Tomoyo and that she's also wearing one of her original creations to the ball as well.

**xoxo**

A small smile crossed Syaoran's features, so small that unless you really were observing him from the beginning, you wouldn't spot it at all.

"Did you do all this?" he asked without turning to the blonde behind him.

Not waiting for an answer, he sat himself in front of the plate of food. But what held his attention was the bright bouquet of tulips in a vase just a little in front of his plate.

Still have asleep, Chloe followed and sat beside him. "Mmm…I…looks pretty right?"

Syaoran smirked at her as she said this before grabbing a piece of the toast and putting it inside his mouth. "You shouldn't have bothered doing all of this. I was planning on taking us both out for brunch."

"Mmmm…sure…" she replied, still not fully awake.

"Didn't you wake up already this morning? What's with the tired look?"

"Mmm…I did, but you…I…then…fell back asleep," she said incoherently.

A smirk still plastered on his face, he took one of the two strawberries on the plate and popped it inside his mouth. 'What is it with girls and strawberries these days,' he said to himself, thinking of a particular girl who had the habit of putting strawberries in all of his home-cooked meals for the past week.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hmm…slightly boring? Well, I promise the next chapter won't be! This chapter is merely for the opening of the ball which will be happening by the next chapter. Still, I hope you guys liked it!

And don't worry, I won't discontinue this story. I love it too much and I never discontinue my stories unless it's for a good reason.

I didn't even discontinue **Meant to be Wild** after almost 5 years of being on hiatus!

Anyway, if you haven't noticed, I'm doing my updates by rotation. After this upload, the next chapter to **Lies and Love** will follow tomorrow or maybe the next day.

That's it for now. Ja ne!

**RaNe**


	4. Attraction and Distraction

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

**Pairings: **Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo, Mei Lin x OC

Just to inform all of you before you continue reading, this chapter is long, even longer than the other two chapters, maybe as long as the first chapter. Not quite sure really. I kinda got carried away as I was writing this part. Explains the length. But I enjoyed writing it and I'm satisfied with it regardless, so I didn't bother to chop it into two chapters.

Anyway, let's move on shall we?

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**"Attraction and Distraction"**

* * *

Face slightly flushed, Sakura poked her head through the door.

"A-Are you sure about this T-Tomoyo? I mean, it looks all too…uhm…"

Eriol looked at his fiancée who was standing beside him, stars in her eyes and seemingly unable to say a word as she stared at Sakura's barely revealed form through the door of the spare rooms- which they turned into a make-up room for the two females just for tonight -to their shared home.

"It'll be fine Sakura, now come out of there," Eriol replied instead, a grin on his face.

"I-I-If you're s-sure," blushing even more furiously now, Sakura stepped out from behind the door and walked towards the couple.

"AH-!" Tomoyo squealed shortly. It was the only form of speech she could manage.

Eriol looked Sakura up and down and whistled in approval.

**xoxo**

"Hey, do you know wh- …she's with you?…no, it's fine…okay…ja," Syaoran shook his head and pocketed his cell. He really didn't understand why Tomoyo has taken such a liking for Sakura. Even he didn't see anything special in her besides what he detests most about her. Every time he thinks of that happy face of hers, it really irritates him.

Sighing, he took one last look down at the city view from his roof garden before heading back inside his penthouse.

"Mai!" he called out. "Are you ready?"

As soon as he said this, a beautiful young woman of 28 years walked into the lounge room, a reserved smile on her face.

Syaoran looked at her up and down, definitely liking what he sees, and she saw it from the look in his eyes.

Laughing lightly and giving a little turn in her gown, she winked at him.

"You look good enough to eat," he complimented bluntly, pointedly and shamelessly looking at the area of her breasts.

Komari Maihara, or 'Mai' as she's more commonly known as, was a gorgeous model and actress in Japan. She's known not only for her skills in both areas but as her gentle appearance but fiery personality that matched well with her signature magma red colored hair. Wearing a halter sparkling black and silver ball gown that hugged her torso- making all her curves noticeable and pushing up her breasts up as it did -until the waist line where it stopped and became fuller, giving it a Medieval feel, and her ears, neck and wrists were adorned by a white-gold jewelry set he had given her especially for tonight.

A light blush tinged her cheeks at his comment. "Shall we go?"

"Hmm…" was all he said, watching her from behind as she made her way out the penthouse and towards the elevators.

**xoxo**

"Ms. Daidouji! Ms. Daidouji!"

Tomoyo turned to one of the reporters at the side of the red carpet that led towards the entrance doors of the hotel where the charity ball was held.

"Yes?" she asked the woman kindly.

"You look lovely this evening Ms. Daidouji! Tell me, are you wearing one of your very own creations?" the reporter asked, letting the camera man zoom at the gown Tomoyo was wearing.

In a midnight blue number that perfectly matched the eyes of her fiancé, Tomoyo practically looked like royalty. The gown was designed as a strapless ball gown that reached all the way to the floor, covering her legs and wasn't too full in size that might make it hard for her to sit down. A chiffon sash ran over one shoulder and was held in place with a lot of silver beads, swirling around the bodice. The diamond jewelry set she was wearing only made her even more stunning than she already was in the gown itself.

"Yes, it actually took some time to finish this particular gown. I put all my heart into the design up until it was finished when the last bead was manually sewn in," she replied with a bright smile.

"At this point, you can obviously assume that my fiancée really is in love with her job. Sometimes I think she loves it more than she loves me," Eriol joked, making the reporter and the crowd of cameramen laugh.

"How about you miss? What is your name? And is this one of Ms. Daidouji's creations as well?"

As the reporter turned to Sakura, she immediately flushed, even more than she had earlier.

Seeing as her friend was currently unable to speak, Tomoyo immediately cut in. "Yes, this is one of my creations as well. I'm actually really fond of it as well. I made this one especially for her."

With that said, every camera and video lens pointed straight at Sakura.

"Smile Sakura," Tomoyo whispered in her ear with a giggle in her tone.

Sakura looked at her unsurely but did as she said. Tomoyo has been nothing but the best. First she created this breathtakingly magnificent gown for her to wear, she volunteered to accompany her to the ball, and when she saw how troubled she looked in her and Eriol's limo, she even held on to her the moment they stepped out of the vehicle until now.

People had been flashing their cameras nonstop in their direction the moment they stepped on the red carpet until now when they were already halfway down it, but Eriol and Tomoyo seemed unfazed by it all. Tomoyo held a hand onto Eriol's arm and her other hand, firmly held Sakura's gloved one.

As the photographers continued to snap multiple pictures of Sakura, Tomoyo finally let go of her for her to have individual shots. "They really love her Eriol, the cameras haven't stopped trailing us since the moment they laid eyes on her," she whispered into Eriol's ear inconspicuously with a very approving smile on her face. She and Eriol were used to having the paparazzi crowd over them, but this time they found them acting differently, and immediately realized the reason for that was the other young woman who was with them.

"It's not just the eyes of the paparazzi she's got," he replied, nodding towards the other guests on the red carpet who have time and again stopped to take a good look at Sakura.

"I can't wait until Mei Lin, Jay and Syaoran sees her, especially Syaoran" she whispered back, trying to keep her cool.

**xoxo**

"We're going to be late, aren't we?" Mai asked, a frown on her pretty face.

Syaoran shrugged, not really minding that they'd be late. When it came to work, he was always prompt and early, for events such as this, he didn't care if his arrival was slightly delayed because he was sure the event would start with the dance, followed by the dinner and then the auction. And judging by the time and the amount of traffic on the road, he estimated that they might miss just about the first half of the dance, which he didn't really care much for.

"I didn't want to be late," the woman beside him voiced out.

He raised a brow at her, knowing full well why. She was hoping to be seen with him on the red carpet on their way inside the hotel by the paparazzi that tend to swarm there just before major events like these. Of course he couldn't blame her, she was after all a model and an actress, publicity is always in their minds.

**xoxo**

"Sakura, are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Sakura nodded at her while fanning her face with her gloved hand. "I-I'm fine. But I need some fresh air though," she replied, pointing towards the double doors to the side. "I'll be back."

The small group watched her leave towards the terrace that connected off to one side of the large ballroom of the 5-Star hotel.

"You did an excellent job with that dress of hers, Tomoyo. She's been dancing nonstop ever since the music began. Everyone's quite drawn to her."

Tomoyo turned to Jay, a bright smile on her face. "It's got nothing to do with my dress, although it might be helping her a bit physically. She's actually has a great personality. You'll see once you get to know her more," she replied, directing it towards him and the lady beside him who was wearing an elegant evening gown of black. The straps on either shoulder held the dress up and fell with a plunging neckline down the front and a criss-cross of straps at the back. The entire gown was made of silk and it held around her body tightly all the way towards the middle of her thighs where it then fanned out more freely with a lot of beadwork sewn on, making it glitter slightly.

Mei Lin looked at Tomoyo with a raised brow. She knew the woman had a soft side, she was always nice to everyone she meets but she has never seen her quite taken with anyone like this.

"I have to get to know her myself then," she replied with an intrigued look on her face before pulling onto her fiancé towards the dance floor. "Let's dance."

As the couple left for the dance floor, Tomoyo turned to her fiancé as well.

Eriol held out his hand towards her and they both made their way after them.

**xoxo**

As Sakura stepped out into the terrace, nobody was there, much to her contentment. She needed time alone, every since she stepped inside that ballroom with Tomoyo and Eriol, she's been asked to dance by random people whom she didn't even know. The oldest man she's danced with was a 66 year old art collector who only spoke Russian. She only found out his age and his profession when she got back to Tomoyo who told her he came here with her secretary who also served as his translator. Not long after she was also whisked away by a 17 year old boy who was the son of one of the managers under Li Corp., but good enough for Sakura though, he stood just around her height so it didn't seem obvious that he was a kid except for the goofy look he held on his face throughout their dance.

They weren't the only eccentric people she had danced with all night though, there were much more of them but the others seemed…normal enough to forget.

Sighing, she rested her elbows on the high stone railing and took a deep breath, taking in as much fresh air as she can. She was exhausted and the night had just begun. Not to mention the 4 inch heels Tomoyo made her wear were killing her feet from all the dancing she's done.

'I'd rather stay home, watch some movies and eat a bowl of strawberries and drink a hot cup of cocoa,' she admitted to herself, a smile appearing on her lips at just thinking about the scene. Sure this was fun, but it was tiring, and she didn't really see the point in coming here herself. The event was indeed for a good cause, but it wasn't like she could actually do much for the benefit. She was there for her boss, who wasn't even there.

Thinking of her boss, it was only then she realized that Syaoran still hadn't shown up.

Sakura snorted.

'Some host he is,' she thought with a shake of her head. 'His company is holding this event and he isn't even here.'

Her thoughts however were distracted as new voices rose not far from her.

She looked behind her just when an arguing couple entered through one of the many double doors that lead out towards the terrace. Hoping they would pay no attention to her, Sakura turned back to the scene below her.

"Will you cut all the drama already?" the man hissed.

"It was your fault! All I did was give you a little kiss and in return you humiliated me in front of all those people!"

"I wouldn't have done that if you didn't kiss me in the first place. You know I hate that sort of publicity," he replied scathingly.

"What's wrong with that sort of publicity?" the woman asked, her voice louder now. It sounded to Sakura that she really was upset.

'Stop eavesdropping!' Sakura scolded herself before trying to focus on a weird shaped building not too far away.

"Unlike you, I'm not some desperate celebrity who takes pride in performing such wanton acts in front of the paparazzi just for the sake of publicity!" the man shouted back.

Nothing was said after that remark, instead she heard a loud slap, which was then followed by the clicking of heels on the stone ground that slowly faded as the woman clearly walked away and most probably back inside.

**xoxo**

'Bitch,' Syaoran thought, as he held on to the side of his face.

He glared at the retreating back of Mai as she sauntered back inside the ballroom in a huff. That's the only thing he hated about dating actresses, they were real drama queens. Ever since they passed the paparazzi outside, she's been rambling nonstop about how rudely he acted with her when they were watching and taking their photos.

Well, who wouldn't? He was a serious business man and his reputation is something he cares about. And having his pictures plastered all over the world where he was in a tight lip lock with an actress whose hands were all over him in the wrong places wasn't something he wanted. Not in this lifetime. So the minute his brain and body got over that shock, he pushed her away from him forcefully, glared at her with all the hate he felt before stalking inside and leaving her on the red carpet.

Of course, the moment she had walked in, flushed from head to foot with embarrassment, she wouldn't shut up about it. And it annoyed him to hell.

Syaoran took his eyes off the doors and sighed, running his hand through his unruly chocolate brown hair before walking towards the railing. Just as he did, someone sneezed. It was only then he noticed that someone had been there during the entire time he was arguing with Mai.

'Great, absolutely wonderful,' he thought sarcastically as he saw that it was a woman. She was slightly far from where they had stood earlier but he was fairly sure the stranger heard everything due to their raised voices. And the fact that she's a woman only meant one thing to him, gossip. Cursing to himself, he started towards her, hoping to clear up any sort of misunderstanding the woman might have concluded from the little performance earlier.

**xoxo**

'Damn it,' Sakura thought, as she sniffed. She could here light footsteps getting louder and coming her way right after she sneezed. 'Please let him be nice, whoever this person may be,' she prayed. She knew there was no excuse for her eavesdropping, and she did feel guilty about not excusing herself. But she didn't have the guts to interrupt them when they were already screaming at each other the moment they came.

"Miss?" the person behind her said, obviously addressing her.

'Syaoran?' she thought. The person's voice didn't sound familiar to her from afar, but now, he sounded exactly like her boss.

**xoxo**

Syaoran saw the person's back stiffen as he spoke.

With a raised brow, he looked at her up and down, curious as to whom the woman whose back was turned to him was. The gown she was wearing gave him a very nice view from behind, so he wasn't at all complaining that she was ignoring him.

Her hair was curled and held up in an elegant chignon, with a few short tendrils falling loose from it, but her neck all the way down to her waistline was revealed. She had a very curvaceous figure as far as he can tell and a very shapely bottom to match. He can only imagine, however, what was covered within the confines of the light material that's covering her legs. The shade of green that comprised the general color of the gown reminded him of emeralds, and it matched her complexion completely. He continued staring at her form and came to a conclusion that whoever this woman is, she looked like a goddess especially now with the few strands of her hair and the fabric of her skirts being blown slightly to the side by the wind.

"I-" the woman stopped as soon as another voice interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

A frown appeared on his face from the disturbance, he regretfully took his gaze away from the lovely form in front of him and turned to the source of the newcomer's voice.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to hold down the irritated tone of his voice.

"Dinner is about to begin," the usher announced with a bow. "Shall I lead you to your table?"

Syaoran turned back to the woman in front of her who still hadn't said a thing or moved an inch.

"Mr. L-"

"I'm coming!" Syaoran called back in an annoyance, before turning towards the persistent man.

"Shall I lead you to your table?" the usher asked yet again.

"I'll find my own way," he replied curtly before pointing towards the woman at the railing. "You can lead her to her table though."

The usher bowed one last time at the event's host before going back outside.

"Excuse me miss?"

Sakura turned to the unfamiliar voice. "Yes?"

"May I lead you to your table?"

Nodding, she followed the man back towards the double doors into the now empty ballroom. "Where is everyone?"

"They have already gathered inside the ballroom in the other wing," he answered. "A few of us have been sent out to locate Mr. Li, we can't begin without him after all."

'So it really was Syaoran,' Sakura thought, now wondering who the woman he was arguing earlier was.

**xoxo**

"Nice to meet you too," Syaoran said with a smile plastered on his face as the older gentleman and the other occupants of the table stood to shake his hand.

Taking his seat on the last unoccupied chair of the round table, he nodded at the men and few women around him and apologized for his tardiness. He, however, did not take even the slightest glance towards the woman seated beside him, making his date for the night huff in annoyance.

"We'll talk later," Mai whispered towards him before a smile immediately replaced her features.

'Actresses,' Syaoran thought, mentally snorting at her sudden and easy change of attitude.

**xoxo**

"I'm so sorry," Sakura apologized profusely as she took her seat in between Tomoyo and Mei Lin, whom she had met briefly in the ballroom earlier along with her fiancé, Jay.

"Don't worry about it Sakura, we were just about to begin," Eriol replied. "Syaoran only just got in himself," he added, nodding to the similar round table which was set at the center most of the lined tables in front of the long stage. Their table was placed in the front of the stage as well but they were two tables to the right from where Syaoran sat.

"Why aren't you sitting with him on the same table?" she asked. She knew Syaoran had the highest rank in Li Corp., but she also learned from the week she spent working at the company that Eriol, Mei Lin and Jay were also at the top after him by rank.

"The tables at the center is reserved to those who donated the top items for tonight's auction for special recognition, same goes for the tables situated to its left and to its right," Tomoyo informed.

As Sakura nodded her head in understanding, the curtains to the stage in front of them rose up, now revealing a small orchestra on stage just as they began playing. After the first few notes escaped their instruments, waiters and waitresses started filing inside from several doors around the large ballroom, carrying large silver trays that were filled with plates of dishes and wineglasses filled with different sorts of drinks.

When a waiter settled a plate in front of Sakura, a frown fell on her face.

"Is something wrong Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo whispered from beside her.

"Nothing! It's nothing," she lied before looking down at her plate yet again. 'I really don't see what's so expensive about this,' she thought as she poked the weird looking dish with one of the few forks provided for her. Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko did tell her about the 'fancy dinner' that costs a lot but, what was on the plate in front of her didn't look at all very expensive, let alone appetizing. Yeah maybe it looked fancy from the way it was made but Sakura thought it would look better as some sort of decoration instead of a meal. This wasn't even much of a meal either, if this actually cost a lot, then the whole event was a rip off. Indeed she always saw the good side of everything but in this case, she really can't.

After two more dishes- which Sakura thought were equally as unappetizing as the first one –the waiters and waitresses replaced their last plate with a smaller plate now containing their dessert.

By this time, Sakura found a smile spreading across her face. She didn't know what sort of dessert it was but she can easily recognize the sliced strawberries beneath the chocolate syrup. And that was enough to bring back her usual bright mood.

Feeling like she was in heaven, Sakura took another bite out of the piece and sighed. This earned her a giggle from her the two women seated beside her.

"Hoe?"

"Sakura-chan, you know people can easily tell what you're thinking just by looking at you?" Tomoyo said.

"Yeah, your face totally gives you away," Mei Lin added. She had actually enjoyed Sakura's innocence and natural kindness that she had noticed from her short time knowing her. What Tomoyo said really was true, the girl's personality is something to admire, and she was really different from most of the women she knew.

Sakura blushed. "N-No it doesn't!" she defended, making the rest of the occupants of their table laugh. All of them had been watching her.

"Yes it does. It was obvious that you hated the three courses we just had," Mei Lin pointed out, making her blush even more. "And it's also obvious that you're loving dessert."

"Sakura is really fond of strawberries," Tomoyo provided, making Eriol nod.

"Really? That's something we have in common then."

After that conversation, the table was replaced with much talk, especially between Mei Lin and Sakura. The two had gotten along so well and so fast, one wouldn't believe the two had only just met and gotten to know the other that very day.

They were so into their conversation, they didn't notice that the orchestra had stopped playing and had already filed out of the stage with their instruments and the stage was replaced with a podium and a large white screen was slowly lowered down until it stopped right beside it.

"The auction is starting," Jay said, stopping the chatter around their table, and not long after, the whole ballroom had silenced as well.

When the last waiter and waitress left the ballroom, a man from Syaoran's table stood and made his way up the stage.

"Good evening everyone! And welcome to Li Corp.'s annual charity ball!" he said into the microphone, making the hundreds of guests clap. "Now that we are filled to the brim with that scrumptious dinner, and delicious dessert, we shall now start with the auction. You all have your numbers, and I have my gavel. I shall serve as your Auctioneer for this evening."

With that said, he raised his gavel, and slammed it onto the podium just by the microphone, and the sound rang through the entire ballroom, indicating the auction had begun. A picture then appeared on the large white screen, sending the audience into conversation by themselves.

"Yes, this piece has been graciously donated by none other than Mr. Nakagawa, one of Japan's biggest art collectors. This painting is called _Momenti di tempo_ by renowned Italian painter Antonio Bonati, and we shall start the bidding at 10,000 U.S. dollars. Yes, that's…912,159 yen everyone." Sakura, who was drinking from her glass of water, almost choked after hearing the starting bid. '912,000 yen? Are they crazy?' she thought incredulously, until she saw a few people in the audience raising small round plaques with numbers on it, and the Auctioneer started raising the price accordingly. When the bidding ended for the piece, it stopped at 57,000 U.S. dollars, which according to what has been announced, cost about 5 Million yen. Sakura swore she would faint. How rich were these people? As the auction preceded, Sakura noticed that after every an item was sold, different people went towards the winning bidders before approaching another random, usually much older person, then going back towards their seats. "Oh, thanks for pointing that out, here," Tomoyo said, handing to her a card she took out from her purse. Sakura took the card and opened it, and inside was a picture of a glass sculpture that looked like some sort of bird with the label below it reading: _Heart of the Phoenix_.

"What's this for?"

"The owners of the items being donated into this auction get these cards. Once a winner of the bid is determined, their secretaries or, in your case, assistants, give the card to them and in return you take their buyer's information sheet and give them to your employer."

"C-Come again?" Sakura asked, baffled. Syaoran never told her to do such a thing for this event. Not only that, she had seen some televised auctions on TV before, and none of them had ever involved their secretaries or assistants to do what Tomoyo just told her to.

"Just watch how things are done," Tomoyo said, nodding as a young man walked over to the table beside their own and gave an elderly lady a piece of paper before taking his seat. "See? It's quite simple. Just pay attention as to who the winner is, that's all."

After a lot more pieces of paintings, antiques, sculptures, and even jewelry were being sold. Sakura realized the use of the card and the buyer's information sheet. There was so much items being sold, even she lost track of them already, and the prices of the items have already reached close to a hundred thousand dollars. She had to keep herself from choking into her drink whenever she heard the announced prices.

"Now for the last and certainly not least item up for auction tonight," the Auctioneer announced with a grin. "You all have been contacted of course by the committee regarding the withdrawal of the _Coeur d'acier_ from the auction."

An image of the metal scarecrow Sakura had broken just a few days ago flashed on the white screen, making her gape. What made her gape, however, is not the obvious popularity of the sculpture when she heard the audience groan from disappointment. It was the price that was labeled just below of the piece.

"1,000,000 U.S. dollars," Sakura read in a faint voice. And the labeled amount was only the _starting_ price for the auction. Now Sakura swore she would faint as she mentally started calculating how much it was worth in yen. She clearly recalled herself telling Syaoran that she would pay for it but now that she knew how much it really costs, she was really doubtful of that.

"But," the Auctioneer continued. "You have also been informed of Mr. Li's replacement piece, and I bet this would certainly be of more interest to the ladies."

Sakura's gaze turned back to the large screen, as it now showed the very picture that was printed inside the card she held.

"The _Heart of the Phoenix_, is a sculpture discovered in Greece in the year 1594 and even as of today, the sculptor of this fine piece is unknown, however the history behind this incredible work of art is enough to ease anyone regardless of its unknown origin."

With that said, Sakura was practically panicking now. Not at the prospect of her walking through the tables to the buyer then towards Syaoran, but in pure worry at how much the piece was going to cost. She remembered that Tomoyo had agreed to pay for the broken piece in Syaoran's penthouse but she, Sakura Kinomoto who wasn't at all blessed with riches at birth, was supposed to pay for the rest of the _Coeur d'acier_'s worth that can't be covered by its replacement.

"Let's start the bidding at 1,000,000 U.S. dollars," the auctioneer started, and immediately, the audience raised their plaques, one after another.

1,050,000

1,080,000

1,100,000

1,150,000

1,300,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

Sakura whipped her head around to every bidder who called for a higher price. Getting restless, as she silently prayed that they would go higher. Most of the bidders of the piece were women, and when the current bid of 3,800,000 U.S. dollars was called, another woman backed out, leaving only three of them left.

4,100,000

4,200,000

4,350,000

4,500,000

One of the women shook her head and placed her plaque on the table in front of her.

'Two more left,' Sakura thought, watching as the two remaining women still went ahead and tried to overbid each other though it was going slower now.

4,550,000

4,600,000

4,650,000

"5,000,000 U.S. dollars!" the woman announced in a much louder voice, making the crowd clap.

"Going once," the Auctioneer announced, looking at the other woman who was now speaking to a man beside her. "Going twice," the woman shook her head at the Auctioneer with a small smile. "Sold!" the Auctioneer boomed with a loud bang of his gavel. "Again, the _Heart of the Phoenix_ is now sold for 5,000,000 U.S. dollars."

**xoxo**

As the amount of 5,000,000 U.S. dollars was announced, the entire audience went into applause, save for a certain gentle man with amber eyes.

Syaoran took hold of his wineglass and tipped the rest of its contents into his mouth, a smirk present on his face.

'Perfect,' he thought, after mentally computing how much Sakura now owed him. An American art collector had already placed an offer for the _Coeur d'acier_ before it had been destroyed for 5,500,000 U.S. dollars. Tomoyo's donation had only brought 5,000,000 U.S. dollars, much to his own delight and amusement. And he highly doubted Sakura, whose lifestyle barely brought her more than enough money to spend on her own luxuries, can pay off 500,000 U.S. dollars she now owes him.

**xoxo**

"Go on Sakura," Tomoyo whispered as everyone waited for the exchange.

Standing up hesitantly, Sakura stood up and made her way towards the woman who was a foreigner, and was sitting on one of the tables located in the center of the ballroom with a group of foreigners.

"Thank you," Sakura said sincerely, and bowing her head towards her as she gave the woman the card.

"Merci et votre bienvenue," the woman replied with a friendly smile as she took the card and gave Sakura a piece of paper.

Sakura had no idea what she had said and in what language it was, but figured she was thanking her as well from the look the woman gave her.

**xoxo**

"Syaoran," someone said from behind him.

Figuring it was his secretary handing him the buyer's sheet as she usually did every single year for a while now, Syaoran turned with a hand held forward.

And stopped.

It wasn't his secretary who was happily married with two kids. It was a young woman who was single without kids but instead had this curvaceous body enclosed in a tight and very provocative yet classy strapless, evening gown with a heart shaped bodice that hugged and accentuated every curvature of her slim figure. The color of the gown matched her eyes in every way, and the beadwork sewn on it in swirling designs matched the very sparkles of her eyes. She looked positively heavenly regardless of her lack of any sort of jewelry except for the two dangling diamond earrings and the matching thin diamond bracelet on her gloved wrist. And her make-up didn't change her usual appearance, instead it only made her glow.

"Syaoran?" Sakura repeated, noticing the man in front of him was openly looking her up and down. Normally it make her uncomfortable to be looked at like a dress on display in a department store, but now when there were hundreds of people whose heads were turned to them and a boiling woman whom she haven't seen before beside her boss, she was downright embarrassed.

Syaoran didn't know what brought him back from his trance, whether it was Mai's low muttering from beside him or from Sakura's now second time to call him by his first name. Whichever it was, he was grateful, for he didn't realize he had been staring at the young woman in front of him until now.

Taking the piece of paper from Sakura, he nodded at her in dismissal, making her turn and walk back to her table. This only sent Syaoran to stare at her yet again. The way she was walking not only sent every male to turn her way, but the view of her back brought him back to the scene in the terrace of the young woman who had taken his interest…sexually.

**xoxo**

The exchange between Syaoran Sakura didn't go unnoticed by guests of the event, especially not by the little group who had a very good view, sitting not too far away from them.

Tomoyo turned to look at Mei Lin, her eyes twinkling in excitement and mirth, where as Mei Lin's were blazing with determination with an obvious plan.

Eriol and Jay looked at each other, knowing exactly what the two women were planning.

**xoxo**

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked doubtfully.

"Positive!" Tomoyo and Mei Lin answered with identical grins.

"But-"

"Sakura, it's practically your last day as Syaoran's assistant," Tomoyo said.

"Yeah, would you really want to leave a bad impression on him?" Mei Lin added. She and Jay hadn't been there the entire week during Sakura's time as Syaoran's personal assistant due to them taking care of business in Li Corp.'s main branch at Hong Kong. This might well be the only time she can do something for the unsuspecting soon-to-be-couple, and she won't let the chance pass up.

"I guess not. But, I still have tomorrow though, and it's getting late. I doubt it if he'll need me for anything else tonight and-"

With the clicking of her tongue and a shake of her head, Mei Lin silenced her. "Trust me, regardless of whatever day it is, you do not want to get into Syaoran's bad side," she said seriously. "Now, just wait here, okay?"

The doors closed after her last words, leaving her alone in the terrace. Sighing, she retook her spot she had earlier and allowed the cool midnight breeze cause a light shiver from her entire body. The gown Tomoyo had made for her left her shoulders and her entire back open. She was about to turn and leave until something warm and heavy fell on her shoulders.

Sakura looked down at the black blazer and towards the person whom she didn't even hear coming through the closed doors at all.

"Uhmm…thanks," she said unsurely, before hugging closer to her body for warmth. What did you want to see me for?"

Syaoran raised a brow at this. He had come because Jay had told him that Sakura had something urgent to tell him, and Eriol had willingly said that he would gladly entertain the rest of the guests who were still present in the ballroom.

Shaking his head at his gullibility, he looked out at the view of the city she was currently admiring.

"About how much you owe," he started, trying to keep the obvious amusement he found in the entire thing. "How to do you expect to pay me?"

"H-How much exactly do I owe you?" she asked hesitantly.

"I already had a reserve buyer for the _Coeur d'acier_, or 'metal scarecrow' as you called it, for 5,500,000 U.S. dollars. I planned to sell it to him in case those who bid for it tonight won't reach that amount," he said, and already he saw the dread that spread across her beautiful face. Syaoran mentally scolded himself. 'Beautiful? I don't think she's beautiful!' he told himself harshly.

"A-And, I owe you 500,000 U.S. dollars?" she asked before gulping.

"Bingo," he replied with a smirk. "That's just a little above 45 million yen," he added, watching her go slightly pale at this new piece of information. "You did say you can pay for it, I'll expect the check on my desk by tomorrow since it's your last day," he concluded before turning and started his way back inside.

"Wait!" Sakura said, pulling the white, long-sleeved button-down shirt he wore underneath the black blazer, which now fell to the ground as she grabbed a hold on him. "Sorry!" she said, letting his shirt go when she accidently pulled it out of his pants, letting it loose.

Syaoran tucked his shirt in and turned back to her as she looked down and started playing with her polished fingernails. He mentally cursed as he eyed her. He had offered his jacket for her because he saw her shivering just when he arrived, but also to cover her up and block his view of her body that seems to have a weird effect on him, especially between his pants.

"I-I…I…"

"You what?" he interrupted.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him, her face pleading. "I don't have 45 million yen!"

This obviously, did not surprise him. He kept silent and placed his hands inside his pants pockets.

"C-Can I possibly pay you back later?" she asked more calmly.

"When?"

"I-I'm not sure exactly. I still have my shop but my income there won't cover the cost even if I work there for the next fifty years, so I-I'll just find another job and-"

"What other job can you possibly take?" Syaoran cut off, looking serious. "If you plan to work at another shop and still be a florist, you still can't pay off that amount in the next fifty years."

Sakura winced at the bluntness of his words, because it was the truth.

"How much do you have in your bank account?" he asked. He knew it wasn't appropriate to ask such a thing, but he was curious. Hopefully this girl wouldn't answer him with the words he thinks she was about to say.

"I-I don't have one."

'Of course you don't,' Syaoran thought, restraining himself from rolling his eyes. His intuition was right, she really didn't have one. And he also knew that his intuition was right when he assumed she didn't bother setting up her own savings at a bank because she thought she didn't need it by how swell her little business is doing for her and because she didn't have trouble paying for her living expenses at the moment. But he didn't bother asking her that, he was afraid he'd get even more irritated by her than he already was at the moment.

"But I'll figure this out," she said in a stronger voice. "I promise I'll pay you back somehow. I won't run away from this debt or anything, if that's what you're thinking."

He didn't think that at all, but by mentioning it, it served well for his plan.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," Syaoran lied. Although the amount was large, he didn't really care much about it. What he did care however was teaching this girl a lesson and, for personal reasons. He eyed her up and down again, still can't help himself and his urges towards this person who seemed to attract him very strongly in a sexual way. He might find her irritating due to her personality but he can't ignore the bulge forming in his pants either. "Which is why I have come to a conclusion and a proposition for you," he added. The more he talked the more he might get his mind off his already growing fantasies of the things he could do to her in bed.

"What is it?" she asked, hoping it would be good for her.

"Continue working as my personal assistant until your debt is repaid," he answered simply.

Sakura fell silent, mentally battling with herself as he said this. A part of her said she must be crazy to accept this sort of offer. Another part of her said it would be all right since Tomoyo and now Mei Lin were around. Another part of her said it was a bad idea especially for her shop since it would officially lose her attention for it. Another part of her said it would be the fastest way to earn money to pay the 500,000 U.S. dollars. And another part of her said it would be bad to continue working for this man who, she assumed, seemed to really dislike her more each day.

"What about your original assistant?"

Syaoran shrugged. "I was planning on giving her a desk job anyway. She's getting old to do everything at my every whim," he said which was partly true. Mrs. Hajime wasn't too old, in fact she can easily do each one of his various commands without falling back on her other duties. But he had also already planned on giving the woman a more stable job as another secretary most probably for the sake of her family. Although Eriol had admitted to him just yesterday that her kid getting the chickenpox wasn't true in the first place, it made him realize that he can't have the 38 year old mother do such tedious duties for him as his personal assistant at different hours of the day when she already has kids to take care of.

Sakura looked thoughtful for a while before exhaling a long breath of hair. "I-I…accept," she said almost regretfully.

A smirk was about to take place yet again on his lips but Syaoran had to contain himself. Indeed he was contented with the whole arrangement, but he had to remind himself that he would also suffer dearly if this young woman can't keep up with the duties that entail from being his _real _personal assistant.

"Very well, your job officially starts tomorrow," he replied curtly. Before walking back towards the railing and picking up the fallen coat.

"Syaoran?"

They both turned to the sound of the female voice, which came from inside the ballroom.

An irritated look crossed Syaoran's features at this. He wouldn't hear the end of it if Mai ever got to him, and he wanted to rest for the night. After everything that happened today, he just wanted to go back to his penthouse and sleep, but with her around, he knew that would be an impossibility. Another thing he hated about dating actresses and singers, they didn't know when to shut up.

Cursing, Syaoran took one more look at the glass double doors that showed the woman heading her way outside.

"Isn't that your date?" Sakura asked, seeing the woman trying to see through the glass.

Syaoran immediately turned around and pulled Sakura with her, pinning her between him and the railing.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking at him in shock.

"Trying to get rid of her," he hissed, after hearing the double doors open behind him.

"What do you m-"

Sakura's eyes widened as his lips were suddenly on hers in a forceful kiss. Pushing him away with everything she's got, he lifted his head from hers and looked down at her with piercing amber eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, glaring hard at him.

"Syaoran?" Mai called unsurely from behind him in a clearer voice.

"Make it look good and I'll take 50,000 of what you owe me," Syaoran growled before slamming her lips onto hers yet again.

It took time for his words to register, but when it did, she didn't immediately comply with his terms. Wide eyed, she looked up at him and then at the woman who was now staring at them close by.

'Is he really this desperate to get away from this woman?' she thought, before she realized what his last statement meant. 50,000 was a _lot _of money and that would be a load off her chest as well.

Before she knew it, her gloved hands found its way up his well-built chest and settled around his neck. He might be tall but the heels Tomoyo made her wear was being unexpectedly helpful in this case.

As soon as her arms settled around his neck, Syaoran felt her start kissing him back. Now he really can't help himself. He softened his kiss and released his hold on the railing before snaking his arms around her tiny waist, and pulling her closer to his body. He heard her squeak in surprise but he didn't care, he felt like his body was on fire the moment his lips touched hers and it only got hotter for him the moment she kissed him back. Now she was playing with his unruly hair and he thought he was going to go crazy with desire for the last girl he thought possible to make him feel this way.

Slowly, he slid a hand up her bare back, making her shiver from his cold palm before it landed at the back of her head. Sakura thought he was going to pull her head back but instead he gently pushed her and deepened the kiss. She could feel his tongue running across her lips teasingly, asking for entrance and all she could do at that point was let him. As soon as his tongue entered her mouth, she felt her whole body weaken. And as if sensing it, she could feel his hold on her waste tighten around her for support.

A soft moan escaped from her throat at the new sensation she was feeling and that only made him kiss her deeper and with more passion. She had never kissed a man in this way. In fact, she hadn't kissed a man at all, and the kiss they were sharing now already made her feel like her entire body was about to explode.

"Syaoran!"

The moment they heard his name being called out in the distance, they let go.

They both held their gaze on the other, unblinking and not saying a single word. They were both slightly panting, refilling their lungs with the air they didn't care they lost earlier and they were both clearly flushed, whether from the cold or from the hottest kiss they had ever experienced, they didn't know.

After the long pause, Sakura finally looked away and flushed even more.

"I…" she didn't know what to say.

Neither did Syaoran, but he was smart enough not to bother saying anything. Instead, he took his blazer from the ground and wrapped it around her.

"Syaoran?"

Both of them turned towards the voice which was now in close proximity and saw Eriol looking at them with raised brows.

'Of course it had to be him,' Syaoran thought sarcastically. "Did all the guests leave already?" he asked aloud.

Eriol shook his head. "Madam Mercier, the French woman who bought the _Heart of the Phoenix_ says she wants to see you and thank you personally before she leaves. Jay's been entertaining her while I came looking for you. What are you two doing here?"

It was only then that Syaoran and Sakura noticed that Mai was gone. After that lip-lock, they didn't even notice her leave, or anything for that matter.

Ignoring his question, he walked towards the double doors and past him. "Are you coming?" he called back from inside the ballroom.

"Yeah!" Eriol shouted back before turning back to Sakura. "Tomoyo and Mei Lin are waiting for you in the main lobby downstairs," he informed with a very wide grin spread across his face.

"Th-Thank you," Sakura muttered back before blushing even more.

**xoxo**

"Did you see the look on her face though?" Mei Lin asked, laughing loudly. "This is the best idea we've ever had!"

Tomoyo laughed along with her but not as loudly as Mei Lin was since there were still a number of guests loitering about in the lobby. "But I wonder what happened?"

"Who cares? At least we know it upset her," she replied, clearly enjoying the entire thing.

After leaving Sakura in the terrace and making sure Syaoran was there with her, they had called on Mai and told her Syaoran was there waiting for her. They had stayed in the main lobby intending to wait for Sakura, but the first person out of three to come down was Mai. When Mei Lin asked her what was wrong, she looked enraged and at the same time looked like she was about to cry. The woman didn't tell them a thing instead just stalked past them and out the main hotel doors.

"Yes, poor her though," Tomoyo said, pitying the upset actress. "She hasn't been in the mood at all the moment she came here with Syaoran."

"I can't believe you actually feel sorry for her. I for one, hope Syaoran officially breaks it off with her. From all the women Syaoran's dating right now, I hate that woman the most. She has the worst attitude of them all! At least the others are somewhat bearable," Mei Lin said with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Well, I suppose she is meaner than the rest of the girls Syaoran's dated," Tomoyo agreed, getting a hopeless look from Mei Lin.

"You really are too nice," she said with a shake of her head before a figure on the grand staircase that led up to the second floor, caught her attention. "Sakura!" she called out excitedly, waving her hand in the air.

Yet again, identical grins appeared on both the women's faces as Sakura walked over towards them slowly and looking…

"Flushed," they said in unison as she neared them.

"H-Huh?"

"You look flushed Sakura, are you okay?" Tomoyo said looking worried.

"I-I'm fine," she replied, her face burning up even more. She had stopped by the ladies room to fix her hair and make sure her make-up looked all right before coming down, she didn't even expect she was still flushed.

With a raised brow, Mei Lin inspected her closely. "Did something happen?" she asked curiously, making her flush even more.

"W-Why do you ask, Li-san?" she asked, looking down the floor.

"I already told you, call me Mei Lin," she reminded before nudging her in the side. "Something _did_ happen, huh?"

Sakura kept silent.

"What's that Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, pointing at the large black blazer that hung on her arm.

"It's Syaoran's, h-he lent it to me," she replied in a low voice.

But the two women still heard and, as it seemed to be possible, their smiles were even wider now.

Before they could say anything else, Sakura held Syaoran's blazer towards Mei Lin. "C-Can you give this to him L- Mei Lin?" she amended, trying to get on her good side so she might consent although she had the gut feeling she wouldn't.

Mei Lin was still grinning as she shook her head.

"Tomoyo?" she asked, looking at the girl hopefully.

Tomoyo also shook her head.

"You borrowed it, you return it Sakura," Mei Lin said. "Is there any reason why you don't want to face my cousin?"

Sakura fell silent and her face, yet again, gave her away.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Really long chapter, huh? But then again that clears up the charity ball and only twisted the plot. I hope you liked it!

Now, to those who've told me not to get discouraged and to still continue writing this story regardless of the number of reviews, I thank you for the support! And of course I will continue this story, I'll never abandon a single story even if no one reads it! That'll be sad though. LOL

I promise to continue writing this story. What I meant about the reviews before is that my updating will just depend on the reviews I get, that's all. Since this story is ongoing along with **Lies and Love**, I'm leaving it to my readers/reviewers to tell me which one I should update quicker first.

That's pretty much it. I have to continue writing now. I haven't finished the next chapter to this chapter yet. Yikes.

Just hope inspiration will kick in and send me into a writing frenzy!

For now, Ja ne!

**RaNe**


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